Mnemonic
A glowing cocoon drifts before your eyes. You jab your elbow at it, but your arm passes clean through—it's a phantasm! The cocoon was never real, just shimmering light that dissolves every time your elbow swings close, re-forming an inch further away.
Additional thoughts
Picture the wispy silk threads of a cocoon wavering like a hologram, your elbow cutting through empty air. The two strokes of 幻 mirror something delicate (cocoon) twisted by a bent line (elbow).Quick recall
A ghostly cocoon your elbow passes straight through—pure phantasm.Details
The keyword for 幻 is phantasm. This kanji refers to illusions, visions, or things that appear real but are ultimately insubstantial and fleeting. It conveys the sense of something mysterious and dreamlike—a mirage or apparition that deceives the senses. By extension, it can describe anything illusory, magical, or existing only in the imagination.
- On'yomi
- げん
- Kun'yomi
- まぼろし