Meaning & readings

jubilation, congratulate, rejoice, be happy

On’yomi ケイ
Kun’yomi よろこ.び
Nanori き、きよん、け、みち、む、やす、よし

Origin

This character combines the idea of celebration with the heart or feelings. The left side contains a component suggesting festivity or rejoicing, while the right side includes the "heart" radical (), which in kanji often represents emotions and inner feelings. Together, these elements create a character that directly depicts the emotional state of joy and congratulation. The complex strokes reflect the elaborate nature of celebrations and the deep, heartfelt happiness they represent.

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

15 strokes

Components

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

  • meaning part

Common words

  • 慶事 けいじ happy event; auspicious event
  • 慶祝 けいしゅく congratulation; celebration
  • 慶弔 けいちょう congratulations and condolences
  • 弁慶 べんけい strong person; person putting on a brave front
  • 国慶節 こっけいせつ anniversary of founding (of PRC); national celebration time

Reference

Strokes
15
Kangxi radical
61
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1300 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+06176