Meaning & readings
honorable, manipulate, govern
On’yomi ギョ、ゴ
Kun’yomi おん-、お-、み-
Nanori う
Origin
This character combines a walking radical on the left, which suggests movement or action, with a component on the right meaning to unload or manage. Together they depict the idea of steering or controlling something — like directing the course of a person or matter through deliberate guidance. The "honorable" sense likely comes from using this character as a respectful prefix in Japanese, where the prefix "o-" or "go-" elevates words by connecting them to the idea of controlled, dignified conduct. Over time, the character absorbed these honorific associations while keeping its core sense of governance and manipulation.
Components
- 彳
- 卸
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 12
- Kangxi radical
- 60
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #1087 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+05FA1