Meaning & readings
apply, answer, yes, OK, reply, accept
Origin
The character 応 combines a sound hint on the left side with the heart or feeling radical on the right. The left component, 广, provides a rough pronunciation guide. The heart component on the right suggests that this character relates to internal responses—what the heart feels or does. Together, these components created a character meaning to respond, reply, or react appropriately to something, capturing the idea of the heart or mind answering to circumstances.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).
Components
- 广
- 心
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
- 一応 いちおう more or less; though not quite satisfactorily
- 応援 おうえん aid; assistance
- 応急 おうきゅう emergency fix; tentative measure
- 応酬 おうしゅう exchange (of words, views, punches, cups, etc.); give-and-take
- 応召 おうしょう responding to a call-up for military service; answering a call-up
- 応接 おうせつ reception (e.g. of visitors); dealing with
- 応対 おうたい dealing with (people, customers, complaints, etc.); receiving (callers, visitors, etc.)
- 応答 おうとう reply; answer
Reference
- Strokes
- 7
- Kangxi radical
- 61
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #266 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+05FDC