• 異常いじょう — abnormal / unusual
• 異ことなる — to differ
• 異文化いぶんか — different culture
• 異性いせい — opposite sex
• 異議いぎ — objection / protest
• 異例いれい — exceptional case
• 異国いこく — foreign country
• 異動いどう — personnel change

異 combines 田 (field) with elements suggesting something unusual or masked, creating the sense of “different” or “strange.” It is used widely, from technical terms like 異常 (abnormality) to cultural concepts like 異文化 (different culture).