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+--- Thread: kanji with opposite meaning embedded (/thread-9834.html)
kanji with opposite meaning embedded - warakawa - 2012-08-28
I am learning the word 匂, which according to edict can mean both fragrant and odor. Is this ridiculous to have kanji have opposite meaning in them? I know this is a kokuji, so it is probably an exception, are there other kanji with same issue?
kanji with opposite meaning embedded - JimmySeal - 2012-08-28
I am learning the word "smell", which according to Webster can mean both fragrance and odor. Is this ridiculous to have words have opposite meaning in them? I know this is an Anglo-Saxon word, so it is probably an exception, are there other words with same issue?
kanji with opposite meaning embedded - kitakitsune - 2012-08-28
It doesn't have opposite meanings in Japanese.
kanji with opposite meaning embedded - Seren - 2012-08-28
Maybe interpret the word as "having a strong smell", whether this smell is fragrant or not so fragrant. Compare 辛, which you could take to mean spicy/bitter/salty etc. I interpret this as "having a distinctive/sharp taste"-sort-of-thing. I wouldn't consider the meanings to be opposite personally, if you zoom out a bit.
kanji with opposite meaning embedded - six8ten - 2012-08-29
I don't really see how the words "fragrant" and "odor" are opposites. While "fragrant" is usually used to describe a pleasant smell and "odor" can be used to describe an unpleasant one, the connotations are not concrete. It's possible to use either of these words in either a positive or negative sense.