Meaning & readings
visit a temple, arrive, attain
On’yomi ケイ、ゲイ
Kun’yomi けい.する、まい.る、いた.る、もう.でる
Origin
This character combines two elements to express the idea of visiting a temple or sacred place. The left component, meaning "words" or "speech," classifies this as a word related to communication or expression. The right component, meaning "purpose" or "aim," suggests a purposeful journey or pilgrimage. Together, they create a character that carries the sense of traveling with intention to a sacred destination—arriving at a temple with dedicated purpose. The combination of "speaking" and "aim" thus came to represent making a pilgrimage or formal visit to worship.
Common words
- 初詣 はつもうで first shrine visit of the New Year
Reference
- Strokes
- 13
- Kangxi radical
- 149
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- —
- Former JLPT
- —
- Unicode
- U+08A63