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Kanji Detail for 朋 - "friend"

朋

  • Meaning

    朋 means "friend." Also associated with peer, ally.

    1. Friend - A companion; a comrade.

    2. Peer - One who studies under the same teacher.

    3. Ally - A partner with shared purpose.

  • Four-character idioms with 朋

    • 知己朋友 ちきほうゆう Listen intimate friends and acquaintances

  • Origin of 朋

    Two strings of cowrie shells hung side by side — equal strands of the old money, matched and parallel. Companions are wealth in pairs; the form later read as two moons.

    How to remember it: Two matched strings of shells — or two moons out together: companions, side by side.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 朋

    • Verified meaning: friend
    • Jinmeiyō kanji — officially approved for use in Japanese given names
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read とも, ともえ, ともかつ, ほう)
    • Also carries these associations: peer, ally

    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.

  • Name readings of 朋

    Given names 朋(とも)Listen 朋(ともえ)Listen 朋(ゆかり)Listen

    Surnames 朋(ともかつ)Listen 朋(ほう)Listen

  • 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

    companion; friend

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    friend, pal, acquaintance

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    friend

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    friend, pal, acquaintance

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

    Friends. Those studying under the same teacher are 朋. Those sharing the same aspirations are 友. | Faction. Such as 朋比為奸, meaning forming factions for personal gain. | To compare. Such as 碩大無朋 means incomparably great. From "Book of Odes." | Five cowrie shells make one 朋. In ancient times, cowries were used as currency. Hence thanking someone for generous gifts is called 百朋之錫 (gift of a hundred peng). Also from "Book of Odes."

  • Onyomi

    tip

    hoh(ホウ) ホウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    tomo(とも) とも

  • Strokes

    tip

    8 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    月 (tsuki・tsukihen)

  • Related Keywords

    friend peer ally companion buddy comrade pal mate partner associate colleague confidant acquaintance chum sidekick supporter helper

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 月 (tsuki・tsukihen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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