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Kanji Detail for 孝 - "filial piety, respect"

  • Meaning

    孝 means "filial piety, respect." Also associated with mourning.

    1. Filial piety - Devotion to parents; dutiful to family.

    2. Respect - Honor toward elders; reverence.

  • Words using

    • 孝行 こうこう Listen filial piety; showing devotion (to someone)
    • 親孝行 おやこうこう Listen filial piety; being kind to one's parents; taking care of one's parents
    • 不孝 ふこう Listen undutifulness to one's parents; lack of filial piety
  • Four-character idioms with

    • 忠孝両全 ちゅうこうりょうぜん Listen being a good son and a loyal subject; possessing loyalty and filial piety
  • Tattoo check:

    • Verified meaning: filial piety, respect
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read こう, こうじ, こうしょう, こうそう)
    • Also carries these associations: mourning

    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

    Given names (こう)Listen (たか)Listen (たかし)Listen (やすあき)Listen

    Surnames (こうじ)Listen (こうしょう)Listen (こうそう)Listen (たかすみ)Listen (たかつぐ)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    filial piety; child's respect

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    filial piety, obedience; mourning

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    filial piety or obedience; mourning apparel

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    filial piety, obedience; mourning

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

    Serving parents well is called 孝. Such as 孝順. | Colloquially, mourning clothes are called 孝. Such as 穿孝 (wearing mourning), 脫孝 (ending mourning). In funerals, one refers to oneself before father and grandfather as 孝. Such as 孝子, 孝孫.
  • Onyomi

    tip
  • Kunyomi

    tip
    none
  • Strokes

    tip
  • Radical

    tip
  • Related Keywords

Sentences including

  • When one would be filial, one's parents are gone.

  • Last night Takashi came to me in a dream.

  • By the time you wish to be a good son, your parents are long gone.

  • On the Respect-for-Senior-Citizens Day, we visit our grandparents and do nice things for them.

  • It must be nice having such a loyal son. You don't have to wonder if you'll be taken care of in your old age.

  • We are writing to inform you that Mr Koichi Ohara has been appointed as Manager of the Technical Department in succession to Mr Taro Iida.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

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