斉

equal; alike; similar, uniform; "alike" radical

Kanji 1473

The equals symbol lies at the heart of 斉, which factors into words about equality, symmetry, and proportion (e.g., "She has a well-proportioned figure."). The most important bit of 斉 vocabulary means "simultaneous." With this word you can say that an audience bursts into laughter together or that birds break into song at the same time. Meanwhile, a negative prefix turns a 斉 compound into a term for "asymmetry," one of the seven principles of wabi-sabi. Also find out when 斉 serves as a radical or component in other characters.

Revision history:

May 26, 2021: 

• p. 2: Updated the Henshall etymology.
• p. 5 sidebar: Changed 孤高 to 枯高.
• p. 5: Reworked the discussion of 等 and 均, based on newer Henshall etymologies.
• p. 8: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Apr. 3, 2015: p. 7: Where it said, "齊藤: The first kanji is the old and non-Joyo version of 斉," I changed "version" to "variant." Of course, "version" is fine, too, but "variant" is more specific, so it's clearer.

Mar. 9, 2012: Originally published.