Separate kanji for おそい when referring to being late and being slow The i-adjective can refer to being fast or being early, but each of the meanings has affinity towards separate kanji: (fast) and (early). Yet, while it's not surprising that the antonyms of both and have the same pronunciation , both that means "slow" and "late" seems to share the same kanji: . Although WWWJDIC and dictionary@goo both include as an alternative kanji for , it does not seem to have affinity towards any of the two meanings either. Is this really the case that the same kanji form can refer to both meanings, or were there separate kanji for each (maybe abolished during the reform or something)?

shows `` as well, but I think this is more often ``. However, the same dictionary shows that (this) `` can also mean "slow of speed"; but I've heard it mostly used as "slow-witted".

As an aside, `` can be any of ``, ``, or ``. They all carry different primary meanings though, so be careful of their usage.

> Is this really the case that the same kanji form can refer to both meanings, or were there separate kanji for each (maybe abolished during the reform or something)?

Yes, I don't see why not. `` is the same type, meaning "high" or "expensive". And its opposites are very different (`` and ``, resp.)