Meaning & readings
safeguard, protect
On’yomi ゴ
Kun’yomi まも.る
Nanori もり
Origin
The character 護 combines the word radical 言 (words, speech) on the left with a sound component 蒦 on the right that hints at pronunciation. The left side suggests the meaning involves communication or instruction — think of how protection often requires speaking warnings or commands to guard others. The right component is purely a sound guide and doesn't contribute to the meaning itself. Over time, the character came to mean "safeguard" or "protect" in the broader sense, with the speech element possibly evoking the idea of defending through words or assertions.
Components
- 言
- 蒦
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 20
- Kangxi radical
- 149
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #351 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+08B77