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Kanji Detail for 願 - "wish, request, to pray"

願

  • Meaning

    願 means "wish, request, to pray."

    1. Wish - A desire; a hope.

    2. Request - To ask for; to petition.

    3. Pray - To ask earnestly.

  • Words using 願

    • 志願 しがん Listen aspiration; volunteering; desire
    • 念願 ねんがん Listen one's heart's desire; one's dearest wish
    • 悲願 ひがん Listen one's dearest wish; Buddha's vow to save humanity
    • 本願 ほんがん Listen long-cherished desire; Amida Buddha's original vow
    • 願望 がんぼう Listen desire; wish; aspiration
    • 出願 しゅつがん Listen application; filing an application
    • 請願 せいがん Listen petition
    • 願書 がんしょ Listen (written) application; written request; petition

  • Four-character idioms with 願

    • 他力本願 たりきほんがん Listen salvation by faith in Amitabha; relying on others; depending on others
    • 大願成就 たいがんじょうじゅ Listen realization of a great ambition; realisation of a great ambition
    • 心願成就 しんがんじょうじゅ Listen earnest prayers being answered; realization of one's earnest wishes

  • Origin of 願

    原, the source or spring, lending the reading gan, beside 頁, the head: the head bowed toward the source. A wish is the head inclined to where things come from.

    How to remember it: Bowing your head 頁 toward the spring 原 — asking the source itself: a wish.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 願

    • Verified meaning: wish, request, to pray
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read ねがい, ねがう, のぞみ)

    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 願

    Given names 願(ねがい)Listen 願(ねがう)Listen 願(のぞみ)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

    petition; request; vow; wish; hope

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    desire, want; wish; ambition

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    desire, wish; honest, virtuous; ready, willing

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

    To desire. Colloquially, desire is also called 心願. | A particle. Meaning the heart desires it to be so. The Mencius says: "I dare not request it, but it is truly what I desire."

  • Onyomi

    tip

    gan(ガン) ガン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    nega.i(ねがい) ねがい

    nega.u(ねが-う) ねが-う

  • Strokes

    tip

    19 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    頁 (ogai・ichinokai)

  • Related Keywords

    wish request pray desire hope aspiration longing yearning appeal petition plea aim ambition earnestly want

Sentences including 願

  • We all wish for permanent world peace.

  • May i talk to ms. brown?

  • I'm not much good at anything , but please be kind to me.

  • I'm going to ask for a new desk.

  • I'd like to get a view of the ocean.

  • I have but one wish.

  • You need to pay in advance.

  • I'd like a table by the window.

  • His wish is to go to america.

  • Please pay at the register.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 頁 (ogai・ichinokai)

See all kanji with this radical →

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