Kanji quizzes for the joy of reading
How do you read 幽玄 in Japanese?
A sense of depth beyond what is immediately seen.
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Unfamiliar kanji? Scan and look it up.Explore the OCR & AI dictionaryHow do you read this in Japanese?
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HINTShow hint
A profound quality that cannot be expressed fully in simple words. It appears in discussions of Noh and literature.
More on radicals and this quiz’s stroke counts
Describe the shapes you see
You do not need to know the radical’s name. Try these searches for this quiz’s characters.
kanji resembling two 幺 shapes within 山
9-stroke kanji before 玄 meaning profound
kanji with 亠 above 幺
These searches describe visual similarities, not formal radicals or character components.
幽: 9 strokes; radical 幺 (short thread). 玄: 5 strokes; radical 玄 (profound). Visual search descriptions are distinct from dictionary radical classifications.
幽9 strokes / radical: 幺 (short thread)
玄5 strokes / radical: 玄 (profound)
Stroke counts and radicals follow the Japanese dictionary Kanjipedia; other dictionaries may differ.
ANSWERShow answerHide answer
The answer is
ゆうげん
yūgen
幽玄
Understand the meaning
English translationProfound, subtle beauty
A quality of profound depth that is not easily grasped in full. In literature and art it refers to a subtle richness felt beyond the surface or what is directly stated.
See it in a sentence
霧の奥からかすかに響く笛の音が、舞台に幽玄な雰囲気を生んでいた。The faint sound of a flute from beyond the mist gave the stage an atmosphere of subtle, profound beauty.
A way to remember
幽 is yū and 玄 is gen. Although the bottom of 幽 looks like 山, its dictionary radical is 幺.
Sources：Kanjipedia: 幽玄
The explanation draws on the sources below. Examples were written for this page.
Explore the word further
Explain what evokes the depth
Use 幽玄な世界 or 幽玄な美. Details such as a lingering sound, a partly revealed form, or an unstated presence make an artistic response more specific.
例：絵の中で霞に隠れた山並みに、私は幽玄な美を感じた。
I felt a profound, subtle beauty in the mountains half hidden by mist in the painting.
More than a description of darkness
幽玄 does not simply report that the lighting is dim. It describes a sense of richness or depth that can arise even when something is not fully revealed.
References for this explanation：Kanjipedia: 幽玄
Explanation checked on 2026-10-26. Additional examples were written by DuraRing for this page.
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