絶

JLPT N3

Cut off, extreme

Readings

On’yomi: ゼツ (zetsu)

Kun’yomi: た(える), た(やす), た(つ) (ta(eru), ta(yasu), ta(tsu))

• た(える) – to cease, to stop • た(やす) – to let something die out, to exterminate • た(つ) – to sever, to cut off

Structure

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Detailed Explanation

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Mnemonic

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Etymology

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Visual Tip

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Vocabulary

絶対

ぜったい

absolute

絶える

たえる

die out

絶望

ぜつぼう

despair

断絶

だんぜつ

severance

気絶

きぜつ

faint

Example Sentences

絶対に行きます。

ぜったいにいきます。

I will definitely go.

音が絶えます。

おとがたえます。

The sound dies out.

絶望します。

ぜつぼうします。

I despair.

関係が断絶します。

かんけいがだんぜつします。

Relations are severed.

気絶します。

きぜつします。

I faint.

Cultural Note

🎎 絶 carries deep emotional and aesthetic weight in Japanese culture — symbolizing finality, rarity, and purity.
• Phrases like 絶景 (breathtaking view) and 絶品 (exquisite item) express something so good it stands apart from all else.
• Conversely, 絶望 (despair) and 絶交 (breaking ties) embody complete emotional severance.
• In traditional arts, such as poetry (俳句, 和歌), the idea of 絶える (to fade away) represents the impermanence (無常) of beauty and life — a key concept in Japanese aesthetics.