越

to cross over; exceed, surpass; move; Vietnam

Kanji 1021

If you want to outdistance others, beat them to the punch, defer work till later, move to Kawagoe, climb over a wall, cross a mountain, be promoted over your boss, or simply excel, you'll need 越. It's also useful for violating borders and walking all over people. Finally, 越 enables you to cross into a new year—if you've taken the proper measures to welcome the New Year's gods. 

Revision history:

June 12, 2020: p. 17: Slightly revised the caption, making it reflect that 動物検疫所 means "Animal Quarantine Service,” the name of a government department. 

Jan. 19, 2020: 

• p. 2: Etymology Box: Replaced the old Henshall etymology with the new one.
• p. 20: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Mar. 29, 2019: Made the following changes:

• p. 2: Updated the Sears link.
• p. 20: Redefined 年越し or 年越 (としこし) as "(1) seeing the old year out and the New Year in; (2) New Year's Eve; end of a year)."
• p. 22: Added a link back to this page so you can more easily access the game below.

June 13, 2016: p. 10: Changed a sentence in the Answer to Quick Quiz 3 to be more consistent with what preceded that sentence.

June 4, 2016: p. 16: Changed the definition of 越境 to "crossing a border, often illegally." Also changed the breakdown of 越境入学 to crossing a border (1st 2 kanji) + admission into school (last 2 kanji).

May 22, 2015: Changed the 1st photo caption on p. 18 to reflect that in 皆さまのお越しを待ちしています, the お越し is a noun meaning "one's coming" in respectful language.

July 18, 2014: Revised the photo caption on p. 6. Also added a translation for the sample sentence in Sidebar 3, as I figured that would be helpful!

June 10, 2014: Originally published.