Meaning & readings

same, agree, equal

On’yomi ドウ
Kun’yomi おな.じ

Origin

This character combines the idea of enclosure with the concept of sameness. The box-like frame on the outside (冂) represents a container or boundary, while the horizontal line and smaller box inside ( and ) show things placed together within that same space. When multiple things occupy the same enclosed area, they share the same place and are therefore equal or identical. Over time, this visual idea of things grouped together in one container came to mean "same" or "agree."

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

6 strokes

Components

  • radical enclosure
  • meaning part
  • radical

Common words

  • 一同 いちどう all present; all concerned
  • 合同 ごうどう combination; union
  • 混同 こんどう confusion; mixing
  • 賛同 さんどう approval; endorsement
  • 同じ おなじ same; identical
  • 同意 どうい agreement; consent
  • 同一 どういつ identical; same
  • 同音 どうおん homophony; same pronunciation

Reference

Strokes
6
Kangxi radical
30
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#15 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 3
Unicode
U+0540C