The kanji 翠 primarily represents a vibrant shade of green, often associated with jade or emerald. It conveys the image of a rich, lustrous green color, particularly in the context of natural beauty, like lush foliage or precious gemstones. The essence is that of a deep, verdant, and often translucent or shimmering green.

・On-yomi (音読み): スイ (sui) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): みどり (midori)

⚫︎ 翠緑 (suiryoku) Translation: Emerald green; verdant green ⚫︎ 翠玉 (suigyoku) Translation: Jade; emerald ⚫︎ 翠鳥 (kawasemidori) Translation: Kingfisher (lit. "green bird")

The kanji 翠 is a phono-semantic compound. It combines two components: the top part is 羽 (hane), meaning "feather," and the bottom part is 卒 (sotsui), meaning "end" or "sudden." It also has the same meaning as 卒 (sotsu) and 粹 (sui), which conveys the meaning of "pure" or "refined". This combination suggests the idea of a beautiful, pure green color, like the color of kingfisher feathers, or a color that is suddenly revealed. Over time, this evolved to represent the specific jade-like or emerald-like green that we recognize today. The formation reflects the idea that the color is pure and refined.