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Kanji Detail for 勇 - "brave, valor"

  • Meaning

    勇 means "brave, valor." Also associated with strong.

    1. Brave - Courageous; bold.

    2. Valor - Heroic courage.

    3. Strong - Powerful; mighty.

  • Words using

    • 勇気 ゆうき Listen courage; bravery; valour
    • 勇退 ゆうたい Listen retiring voluntarily; resigning one's post (to make way for others); stepping down
    • 義勇 ぎゆう Listen heroism; loyalty and courage
    • 勇者 ゆうしゃ Listen hero; the brave; man of valour (valor)
    • 勇ましい いさましい Listen brave; valiant; gallant
  • Four-character idioms with

    • 勇往邁進 ゆうおうまいしん Listen dash and go; pushing forward
    • 勇気凛凛 ゆうきりんりん Listen full of spirit; brimming with courage; high-spirited
    • 勇猛果敢 ゆうもうかかん Listen daring and resolute; having dauntless courage
    • 勇猛無比 ゆうもうむひ Listen most brave; as brave as any; unmatched for valor
    • 勇猛精進 ゆうみょうしょうじん Listen engage in ascetic practices with dauntless spirit
    • 忠勇無双 ちゅうゆうむそう Listen of peerless loyalty and bravery
  • Origin of

    甬, which lends the reading yū, over 力, strength. The classical reading of the top is a bucket rising from a well: strength that wells up and overflows — courage as force that springs of itself.

    How to remember it: Strength 力 rising up through the well-shaft 甬 — courage is strength that comes up when called.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check:

    • Verified meaning: brave, valor
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read いさお, いさみ, いさむ, たけし)
    • Also carries these associations: strong

    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 (いさお)Listen (いさみ)Listen (いさむ)Listen (たけし)Listen (ゆう)Listen

    Surnames (やん)Listen (ゆうざき)Listen (ゆうじ)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    courage; cheer up; be in high spirits; bravery; heroism

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    brave, courageous, fierce

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    brave

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    brave, courageous, fierce

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

    Having great physical strength. Such as 勇士 (warrior), 勇夫 (brave man). | Having courage surpassing others is also called 勇. Such as 勇敢 (brave), 勇往 (advancing bravely). | Soldiers are called 勇. Such as 護勇 (guards), 鄉勇 (local militia).
  • Onyomi

    tip
  • Kunyomi

    tip
  • Strokes

    tip
  • Radical

    tip
  • Related Keywords

Sentences including

  • He was brave.

  • He dare not go alone.

  • The experience gave him the courage.

  • He was brave enough to go there alone.

  • Dare you call her?

  • I didn't have the courage to tell her the fact.

  • What you need the most now is courage.

  • You are very brave.

  • I know him to be a brave man.

  • John did a brave thing.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

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