涯

outer limits; horizon

Kanji 1069

Do you consider the horizon to be far away or close to you? It seems that English and Japanese have opposite takes on this issue. Find out about that in this investigation of 涯, which means "horizon." It also means “outer limits,” so this character gives a sense of the lines that circumscribe one’s world. For instance, if it’s your lot in life to be stuck living near dreadful relatives, you can convey that with 涯 (well, actually, with 境涯).

Revision history:

June 18, 2023: p. 8: Fixed errors in the breakdown of a word in the quiz.

Feb. 3, 2023: p. 8: I replaced the photo with a vastly improved version, and I changed the caption quite a bit to match the way I worded it in essay 1007.

June 10, 2021:

• p. 1: I deleted “edge; shore” as primary definitions of this kanji, which leaves “outer limits; horizon.”
• p. 2: Updated the Henshall etymology.
• p. 2: Changed the breakdown of 天涯孤独 to “whole world (1st 2 kanji) + isolation (last 2 kanji)” and added an explanation of the 天涯 in this word.
• p. 5: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Aug. 29, 2014: Corrected a small formatting problem on p. 3. 

Aug. 24, 2012: Added a picture to p. 8. Now this essay includes a picture of the 涯 kanji!