瑠璃

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 瑠璃 – see 琉璃 (“a kind of blue and translucent natural precious stone, probably lapis lazuli; etc.”). (This term, 瑠璃, is a variant form of 琉璃.)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
瑠	璃
る Grade: S	り Grade: S
goon	on’yomi

Alternative spelling
琉璃

瑠璃: a lapis lazuli carving from Qing Dynasty China

Etymology

Shortened from 吠(べい)瑠(る)璃(り) (beiruri), itself from Middle Chinese 吠瑠璃 (MC bʉɐi^H liᴇ), a phonetic transcription of Sanskrit वैडूर्य (vaiḍūrya, “cat's eye, beryl”).[1][2] Some scholars suggest that the source term might instead have been Pali veḷuriya (“precious stone, maybe lapis lazuli”).[3][4]

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Goon

(Tokyo) るり [rùrí] (Heiban – [0])[5]
(Tokyo) るり [rúꜜrì] (Atamadaka – [1])[5][2]
IPA^(key): [ɾɯ̟ᵝɾʲi]

Noun

瑠(る)璃(り) • (ruri)

lapis lazuli
the deep blue color of lapis lazuli: azure
common name for various blue thrushes (birds) in family Muscicapidae, such as the 大瑠璃 (ōruri, “blue and white flycatcher, Cyanoptila cyanomelana”) or 小瑠璃 (koruri, “Siberian blue robin, Larvivora cyane, syn. Luscinia cyane”)
(mineralogy, geology) lazurite
Synonym: 青金石 (seikinseki) (more specific)

Idioms

瑠(る)璃(り)の光(ひかり)も磨(みが)きがら (ruri no hikari mo migakigara): “lapis lazuli's shine is brought out by polishing” → inborn talent is no substitute for hard work and practice
瑠(る)璃(り)も玻(は)璃(り)も照(て)らせば光(ひ)かる (ruri mo hari mo teraseba hikaru): “lazuli and crystal sparkle when you shine a light on them” → even if two things are different, illumination can make their excellent qualities clear
瑠(る)璃(り)も玻(は)璃(り)も照(て)らせば分(わ)かる (ruri mo hari mo teraseba wakaru): “you can tell lazuli and crystal by shining a light on them” → the true nature of similar things can be discerned by different means or in different situations
瑠(る)璃(り)は脆(もろ)し (ruri wa moroshi): “lazuli is fragile” → a metaphor for the fragility of beautiful things
瑠(る)璃(り)も曇(くも)る (ruri mo kumoru): “even lazuli gets cloudy” → a metaphor for how even the most excellent things lose value over time

Derived terms

瑠(る)璃(り)色(いろ) (ruriiro): azure blue
瑠(る)璃(り)貝(がい) (rurigai): pelagic marine snails of genus Janthina
瑠(る)璃(り)懸(かけ)巣(す) (ruri kakesu): a jaybird, Lidth's jay: Garrulus lidthi
瑠(る)璃(り)瓦(がわら) (rurigawara): a kawara tile with a glossy blue glaze, commonly used in roofing in Japan
瑠(る)璃(り)観(かん)音(のん) (Ruri Kannon): one of the 33 manifestations of Kannon (観音), the Buddha or goddess of mercy, depicted standing on a lotus leaf floating in the water, with incense in her right hand and a lotus blossom in her left hand
瑠(る)璃(り)釉(ぐすり) (rurigusuri): a slip containing powdered cobalt and applied to ceramics to achieve a deep blue color after firing
瑠(る)璃(り)光(こう)如(にょ)来(らい) (Rurikō Nyorai): another name for 薬師如来 (Yakushi Nyorai), the medicine Buddha
瑠(る)璃(り)紺(こん) (ruri kon): a deep blue and glossy piece of lapis lazuli; a deep blue color, the color of lapis lazuli
瑠(る)璃(り)小灰(しじみ) (ruri shijimi): the holly blue butterfly, Celastrina argiolus
瑠(る)璃(り)草(そう) (ruri sō): navelwort: a flowering plant of genus Omphalodes in family Boraginaceae, native to the mountainous regions of Honshū and Hokkaidō; alternate name for related plant 蛍葛 (hotaru kazura), Lithospermum zollingeri
瑠(る)璃(り)蛺(たては) (ruri tateha): the blue admiral butterfly, Kaniska canace
瑠(る)璃(り)鳥(ちょう) (ruri chō): the Taiwan whistling thrush or Formosan whistling thrush, Myophonus insularis
瑠(る)璃(り)灯(とう) (ruri tō): a kind of hexagonal lamp used in the Ōbaku sect of Zen, covered in thin silk and containing a candela made of lapis lazuli, and hung in the main hall of temples
瑠(る)璃(り)虎(とら)の尾(お) (ruri tora no o): “azure tiger's tail”, Veronica subsessilis
瑠(る)璃(り)繁縷(はこべ) (ruri hakobe): poor man's weatherglass, Lysimachia foemina, syn. Anagallis foemina, a low-growing herbaceous annual plant
瑠(る)璃(り)鶲(びたき) (ruribitaki): the red-flanked bluetail, orange-flanked bush-robin, or Siberian bluechat, Tarsiger cyanurus
瑠(る)璃(り)溝(みぞ)隠(かくし) (ruri mizokakushi): a flowering herbaceous perennial plant, the edging lobelia, garden lobelia or trailing lobelia, Lobelia erinus
瑠(る)璃(り)実(み)の樹(き) (ruri mi no ki): an evergreen shrub of genus Lasianthus, native to the Izu Peninsula
瑠(る)璃(り)ムスカリ (ruri musukari): azure muscari, a perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia, of genus Muscari
瑠(る)璃(り)柳(やなぎ) (ruri yanagi): waxy-leaf nightshade, a flowering shrub, Solanum glaucophyllum ( ⇐ Solanum melanoxylon)

Synonyms

(lazurite): 青(せい)金(きん)石(せき) (seikinseki)

References

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1985, The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, Edward H Schafer, University of California Press, Los Angeles, 398 pp.
1917, Field Museum of Natural History: 1909, “The Beginnings of Porcelain in China”, Berthold Laufer and Henry Windsor Nichols, The Museum, p138:
The glassy paste for the production of ceramic glazes was called liu-li 琉璃 (in the Han Annals 流離) or p'i-liu-li, derived from Prākrit veluriya, Mahārāshṭrī verulia (Sanskrit vaiḍūrya).
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[3] 1985, The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, Edward H Schafer, University of California Press, Los Angeles, 398 pp.

[4] 1917, Field Museum of Natural History: 1909, “The Beginnings of Porcelain in China”, Berthold Laufer and Henry Windsor Nichols, The Museum, p138:
The glassy paste for the production of ceramic glazes was called liu-li 琉璃 (in the Han Annals 流離) or p'i-liu-li, derived from Prākrit veluriya, Mahārāshṭrī verulia (Sanskrit vaiḍūrya).

[NHK-5] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN