One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.

Share this page

Kanji Detail for 希 - "hope, rare, few"

希

  • Meaning

    希 means "hope, rare, few."

    1. Hope - To wish for; to desire.

    2. Rare - Uncommon; scarce.

    3. Few - Not many; sparse.

  • Words using 希

    • 希薄 きはく Listen thin (air); weak (liquid); dilute
    • 希少 きしょう Listen scarce; rare

  • Four-character idioms with 希

    • 希少価値 きしょうかち Listen scarcity value; rarity value; preciousness

  • Origin of 希

    爻, crossed threads, over 巾, cloth: weave so fine the threads thin almost to nothing. "Sparse" became "rare", and the rare became what one longs for — hope as reaching for the seldom-seen.

    How to remember it: Cloth 巾 woven so thin you can see through it — hoping is wanting what is rare.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 希

    • Verified meaning: hope, rare, few
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あきら, あれき, いつか, き)

    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 希

    Given names 希(あきら)Listen 希(あれき)Listen 希(いつか)Listen 希(き)Listen 希(きい)Listen 希(こいね)Listen 希(こころ)Listen 希(しずか)Listen 希(ねがう)Listen 希(のぞみ)Listen

    Surnames 希(ねがい)Listen 希(のぞむ)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

    hope; beg; request; pray; beseech; Greece; dilute (acid); rare; few; phenomenal

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    rare; hope, expect, strive for

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    to hope; to admire; variant of 稀[xi1]

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    rare; to hope for, to strive for; to expect

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

    Few. Such as 幾希, | To hope. Such as 希冀, 希望. In letters, making requests is said 伏希, like 伏乞.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ke(ケ) ケ

    ki(キ) キ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    koinega.u(こいねが-う) こいねが-う

    mare(まれ) まれ

  • Strokes

    tip

    7 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    巾 (haba・habahen・kimben)

  • Related Keywords

    hope rare few faint dim sparse scarce uncommon desire aspiration wish yearn seek

Sentences including 希

  • Her words gave me hope.

  • The dream of yesterday is the hope of today.

  • You should not give up your hope.

  • I'd like to go to london someday.

  • While there is life , there is hope.

  • They went against my wishes.

  • No one gave up hope.

  • This was his one and only hope.

  • I'll try to meet your wishes.

  • The man lost all hope.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 巾 (haba・habahen・kimben)

See all kanji with this radical →

Share This Page

Share this link via

Or copy link