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The Overlaps Between 離, 外, and

SPOILER ALERT: If you intend to take Quiz 1 but haven’t done so yet, you might want to do that before reading this page, which defines one compound presented there.

In a short space, we’ve seen three kun-yomi that apparently overlap in meaning:

1. (hana(reru): to detach, separate)

e.g., 人間離れ (ningenbanare: unwordly, superhuman)
     human being + to detach

2. (hazu(reru): to be separated, get out of place, be off)

e.g., 仲間外れ (nakamahazure: being left out)
     member of a group (1st 2 chars.) + to be separated

3. (wa(reru): to be divided, be separated, split into)

e.g., 仲間割れ (nakamaware: split among friends, falling out, internal discord)
     member of a group (1st 2 chars.) + to lose unity

This seems like a good opportunity to sort out the differences. Let’s look at these kun-yomi one at a time.

1. (hana(reru): to detach, separate)

e.g., 人間離れ (ningenbanare: unwordly, superhuman)
     human being + to detach

Common Compounds:

離れ離れ (hanarebanare: separate, scattered)     to separate x 2

Love the internal rhyme here!

現実離れする (genjitsubanare suru: to become disconnected from reality)     existing + reality + to separate

Can be useful when describing political leaders!

Sample Sentences from Breen:

彼は私の家から遠く離れた所に住んでいます。
Kare wa watashi no ie kara tōku hanareta tokoro ni sunde imasu.
He lives far away from my house.

For Kanji Breakdown #1 …

彼は4月に日本を離れる
Kare wa shi-gatsu ni Nihon o hanareru.
He will leave Japan in April.

For Kanji Breakdown #2 …

昨夜見た生なましい悪夢がまだ頭から離れない
Sakuya mita namanamashii akumu ga mada atama kara hanarenai.
I’m still haunted by a vivid nightmare I had last night.

For Kanji Breakdown #3 …

Conclusions:

The kun-yomi 離れる imparts a sense of physical distance, as well as departure, separation, and detachment. I thought that because plays a part in 離婚 (rikon: divorce), this kanji might have an acrimonious feeling to it—one that would carry over into its kun-yomi. But instead, 離れる either has a sad sense or gives off a matter-of-fact vibe about the separation between objects or people, as well as departures from a place.

2. (hazu(reru): to be separated, get out of place, be off)

e.g., 仲間外れ (nakamahazure: being left out)
      member of a group (1st 2 chars.) + to be separated

Common Compounds:

当たり外れ (atarihazure: hit or miss, risk)     to hit + to be off
町外れ (machihazure: outskirts of town)     town + to be separated
並外れ (namihazure: out of the ordinary)     ordinary + to be off
的外れ (matohazure: wide of the mark, out of focus)
                                                                           target + to be off

We also saw as “target” in a previous blog.

Sample Sentences from Breen:

その矢は的から大きく外れた
Sono ya wa mato kara ōkiku hazureta.
The arrow fell wide of the mark.

For Kanji Breakdown #4 …

彼の説明は要点を外れています。
Kare no setsumei wa yōten o hazurete imasu.
His explanation is beside the point.

For Kanji Breakdown #5 …

計算によるとロケットは軌道を外れている。
Keisan ni yoru to roketto wa kidō o hazurete iru.
The calculations show that the rocket is off-course.

Note: I have changed Breen’s sentence in various ways, so this isn’t exactly what you’ll find if you look online.

For Kanji Breakdown #6 …

Conclusions:

There’s a sense of a missed target in 外れる. This makes sense; means “outside,” so one might think of a tennis ball that lands out of bounds, rendering an effort ineffective. Other than the frustration that goes along with missing the mark, does not seem a highly emotional kanji—not at all what I expected after encountering 仲間外れ (nakamahazure: being left out, member of a group (1st 2 chars.) + to be separated).

3. (wa(reru): to be divided, be separated, split into)

e.g., 仲間割れ (nakamaware: split among friends, falling out, internal discord)
     member of a group (1st 2 chars.) + to lose unity

Common Compounds:

割れ目 (wareme: crevice)     to be divided + dividing point

Although often means “eye,” it can take on very different meanings when serving as a suffix.

ひび割れ (hibiware: crack, fissure)
割れた卵 (wareta tamago: broken egg)     to be divided + egg
二で割れる (ni de wareru: to be divisible by two)
                                                                   two + to be divided

Sample Sentences from Breen:

ガラスはすぐ割れる
Garasu wa sugu wareru.
Glass breaks easily.

シャボン玉は途中で割れた
Shabondama wa tochū de wareta.
The bubble burst in the air.

I simply had to include this one, as it touches on the kanji that I explored in my first blog for JapanesePod101.com, as well as 途中, which we examined in an August blog. Don’t tell me you haven’t read those; you’ll burst my bubble!

For Kanji Breakdown #7 …

Conclusions:

The yomi (wa(reru)) is very practical. Sometimes it refers to dividing things with mathematical precision. That makes sense; an original meaning of was “to cut in two with a knife.” Also, with the yomi of wari, means “rate, proportion, ratio.” When you refer to discounting merchandise, is your kanji: 一割引 (ichiwaribiki) means “10 percent discount” (because is the counter for units of 10 percent).

Final Conclusions:

(hana(reru): to detach, to separate)

Refers to physical distance, departure, separation, and detachment. Either has a sad sense or gives off a matter-of-fact vibe about the separation between objects or people, as well as departures from a place.

(hazu(reru): to be separated, get out of place, be off)

Gives the sense of a missed target. Not a highly emotional word.

(wa(reru): to be divided, be separated, split into)

Refers to making divisions, to splitting things in two. A practical word.

As we go down the list, the yomi seem to become less emotion-laden.

Back to the Blog …