Meaning & readings

think

On’yomi
Kun’yomi おも.う、おもえら.く、おぼ.す

Origin

This character shows a person's heart or mind () inside a field or bounded space (). The ancient idea was that thinking happens within the mind, so combining the symbol for the heart—which Japanese associated with emotions and consciousness—with an enclosing frame suggested the act of internal reflection. Over time, this image of the mind working within itself came to mean "to think" or "to ponder."

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

9 strokes

Components

  • radical top
  • radical bottom

Common words

  • 意思 いし intention; wish
  • 思案 しあん careful thought; consideration
  • 思考 しこう thought; consideration
  • 思索 しさく speculation; thinking
  • 思想 しそう thought; idea
  • 思慕 しぼ yearning; longing for
  • 思惑 おもわく expectation; anticipation
  • 思い おもい thought

Reference

Strokes
9
Kangxi radical
61
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#132 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 3
Unicode
U+0601D