Meaning & readings

be proud

On’yomi ゴウ
Kun’yomi おご.る、あなど.る

Origin

This character combines the person radical on the left with a component suggesting wandering or roaming on the right. The idea is that a proud person acts as if they're above others, moving freely without regard for social rules or proper respect—essentially roaming where they please rather than staying in their proper place. Over time, this image of someone acting unrestrained and dismissive of others came to mean being proud or arrogant.

傲 13 strokes

Components

  • 亻 radical left
  • 敖 meaning part right

Common words

  • 傲慢 ごうまん haughty; arrogant

Reference

Strokes
13
Kangxi radical
9
Formation type
Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
—
Former JLPT
—
Unicode
U+050B2