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激
Intense, Violent, Fierce
はげ.しい
JLPT N2
Interesting Fact
The kanji 激 appears in words describing strong emotions and powerful natural events. 激辛 ('extremely spicy') has even become a popular food challenge in Japan.
Memory Trick
Imagine a fierce storm with strong winds and heavy rain. That powerful force helps you remember 激 means 'intense' or 'violent.'
Readings
Onyomi: ゲキ (geki)
Kunyomi: はげ.しい
Example Words
激しい
はげしい (hageshii)
Intense
刺激
しげき (shigeki)
Stimulus
感激
かんげき (kangeki)
Deep emotion
激増
げきぞう (gekizou)
Rapid increase
Example Sentence
昨日 は 雨 が 激しく 降りました。
きのう は あめ が はげしく ふりました。
kinou wa ame ga hageshiku furimashita
It rained heavily yesterday.