Meaning & readings

posture, stance, appearance, build, set up

On’yomi コウ
Kun’yomi かま.える、かま.う
Nanori とち

Origin

This character combines wood () on the left as a meaning hint with a sound component (冓) on the right that suggests its pronunciation. The wood radical signals that this character relates to wooden structures or frameworks. The overall sense is of constructing or arranging something into a particular form or posture — like how wooden beams are assembled and positioned to create a building's structure. Over time, the meaning broadened from physical construction to the more abstract idea of posture, stance, or appearance: the way something is "built" or arranged.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).

14 strokes

Components

  • radical left
  • sound hint right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 遺構 いこう (archaeological) remains; remnants (of ancient structures)
  • 機構 きこう mechanism; machinery
  • 虚構 きょこう fiction; fabrication
  • 結構 けっこう splendid; nice
  • 構う かまう to mind; to care about
  • 構図 こうず composition (of painting); structural outline
  • 構成 こうせい composition; construction
  • 構想 こうそう plan; plot

Reference

Strokes
14
Kangxi radical
75
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#316 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+069CB