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Kanji Detail for 補 - "to make up for, to help"

補

  • Meaning

    補 means "to make up for, to help." Also associated with to mend.

    1. Supplement - To fill what is lacking; to make up for deficiencies.

    2. Repair - To mend; to fix; to assist.

    3. Appoint - To confer an official position.

  • Words using 補

    • 候補 こうほ Listen candidate; contender; prospect
    • 補償 ほしょう Listen compensation; reparation
    • 立候補 りっこうほ Listen candidacy; standing as a candidate; bidding (to host an event, e.g. the Olympics)
    • 補正予算 ほせいよさん Listen revised budget; supplementary budget
    • 補給 ほきゅう Listen supply; supplying; replenishment
    • 補強 ほきょう Listen reinforcement; strengthening
    • 補正 ほせい Listen correction; revision; compensation (e.g. to a pendulum)
    • 補修 ほしゅう Listen repair; mending

  • Four-character idioms with 補

    • 亡羊補牢 ぼうようほろう Listen locking the barn door after the horse has bolted; doing something too late
    • 採長補短 さいちょうほたん Listen compensating for one's shortcomings by incorporating others' strong points

  • Tattoo check: 補

    • Verified meaning: to make up for, to help
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read たすく)
    • Also carries these associations: to mend

    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 補

    Surnames 補(たすく)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    supplement; supply; make good; offset; compensate; assistant; learner

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    mend, patch, fix, repair, restore

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    to repair; to patch; to mend; to make up for; to fill (a vacancy); to supplement

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    to fix, to mend, to patch, to restore

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

    To mend clothing. Meaning to repair what is torn to make it whole again. Such as 補綴 (patching), 補衲 (mending). | Whenever there is a deficiency and it is completed, or a long-standing gap and it is filled, it is called 補. Such as 補遺 (supplementing omissions), 補缺 (filling vacancies). | To assist. Mencius says "In spring inspect the plowing and supplement what is lacking." | To benefit. Such as saying 不無小補 (not without some small benefit).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ho(ホ) ホ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    oginau(おぎな-う) おぎな-う

  • Strokes

    tip

    12 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    衣 衤 (koromo・koromohen)

  • Related Keywords

    mend help make up for supplement repair grant an official position complement aid compensate fill fix reinforce remedy restore support

Sentences including 補

  • The supplies will give out soon.

  • I gave up running for president.

  • The supplies will give out soon.

  • He wants to run for president.

  • He stood for an election.

  • He is going to run for the presidency.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 衣 衤 (koromo・koromohen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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