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Kanji Detail for 怖 - "fearful, frightened"

怖

  • Meaning

    怖 means "fearful, frightened." Also associated with apprehensive.

    1. Scary - Frightening; causing fear.

    2. Fear - To be afraid; to dread.

    3. Terrifying - Causing terror or alarm.

  • Words using 怖

    • 恐怖 きょうふ Listen fear; dread; dismay
    • 怖い こわい Listen scary; frightening; eerie
    • 怖がる こわがる Listen to be afraid (of); to fear; to be frightened (of)

  • Four-character idioms with 怖

    • 畏怖嫌厭 いふけんえん Listen feelings of dread and aversion

  • Tattoo check: 怖

    • Verified meaning: fearful, frightened
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Also carries these associations: apprehensive
    • Traditionally considered inauspicious in names — Japanese readers may find it an unlucky choice. Check the meanings above carefully before using it on skin.

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    dreadful; be frightened; fearful

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    terror, fear; frighten; terrified

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    terror; terrified; afraid; frightened

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    frightened, terrified

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Panic from fear. Such as 恐怖.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    fu(フ) フ

    ho(ホ) ホ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    kowa.garu(こわ-がる) こわ-がる

    kowa.i(こわ-い) こわ-い

    o.jiru(おじる) おじる

    oso.reru(おそ-れる) おそ-れる

  • Strokes

    tip

    8 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    心 忄 (kokoro・shitagokoro・risshimben)

  • Related Keywords

    fearful frightened apprehensive timid scary dread terror afraid horrifying eerie creepy menacing alarming horror

Sentences including 怖

  • The dog frightened the children away.

  • He's afraid of the sea.

  • She is very afraid of the dark.

  • He gave me a stern look.

  • Don't be scared of making mistakes.

  • There was fear in her eyes.

  • I'm afraid of earthquakes.

  • I've never heard of such a frightening story before.

  • He is afraid of the dog.

  • He was afraid of the dark.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 心 忄 (kokoro・shitagokoro・risshimben)

See all kanji with this radical →

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