heavy

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The on readings are じゅう or ちょう, and the kun readings are え, おもい, かさねる, or かさなる. It has 9 strokes. It appears in words for heaviness, schedules overlapping, and efforts accumulating.
• Basic usage: 重い is read おもい, and 重なる is read かさなる.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 重い / 重なる
  • 重い means heavy or weighty and is read おもい. It describes physical weight or the burden of a responsibility.
  • この箱は一人で運ぶには重い。 means “This box is too heavy to carry alone.”
  • 重なる means to overlap or to accumulate and is read かさなる. It describes schedules overlapping or small efforts accumulating.
  • 会議と出張の日程が重なってしまった。 means “The meeting and business trip schedules ended up overlapping.”