Meaning & readings

furthermore, still, yet

On’yomi ユウ、ユ
Kun’yomi なお

Origin

The character 猶 combines the animal radical on the left, which classifies it as relating to creatures, with the component 酋 on the right, which provides a sound hint for how to pronounce it. The original meaning likely came from the behavior of monkeys or similar animals—the character may have depicted an animal that hesitates or lingers, which naturally connects to the sense of "still" or "yet" that the character carries today. Over time, this visual and behavioral association evolved into the abstract meanings of continuation and hesitation that we see in words meaning "furthermore" or "still."

猶 12 strokes

Components

  • ⺨ radical left
  • 酋 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

  • 猶予 ゆうよ postponement; deferment
  • 執行猶予 しっこうゆうよ stay of execution; suspended sentence
  • 起訴猶予 きそゆうよ suspension of indictment; leaving charge on the file

Reference

Strokes
12
Kangxi radical
94
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1799 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+07336