Meaning & readings

thick, heavy, rich, kind, cordial, brazen, shameless

On’yomi コウ
Kun’yomi あつ.い、あか
Nanori あ、あっ

Origin

This character appears to show a layered or substantial form. The left side resembles a vertical structure, while the right side suggests something accumulated or built up in depth. The overall composition visually conveys the idea of thickness or heaviness by showing multiple elements stacked or pressed together. Over time, this visual representation of physical thickness was extended to describe richness or abundance, and eventually the more abstract meanings of kindness and sincerity, since these qualities were thought of as deep and substantial in a person's character.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.

9 strokes

Components

This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (厚).

  • meaning part

Common words

  • 温厚 おんこう gentle; mild-mannered
  • 厚い あつい thick; deep
  • 厚さ あつさ thickness
  • 厚意 こうい kindness (shown by others); courtesy
  • 厚紙 あつがみ cardboard; thick paper
  • 厚生 こうせい welfare; public welfare
  • 厚相 こうしょう Welfare Minister
  • 厚着 あつぎ wearing thick clothes; dressing warmly

Reference

Strokes
9
Kangxi radical
27
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#768 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+0539A