Meaning & readings
precious, value, prize, esteem, honor
On’yomi キ
Kun’yomi たっと.い、とうと.い、たっと.ぶ、とうと.ぶ
Nanori きよ、ぎ、たか、たかし、よし
Origin
This character appears to combine two visual ideas to express the concept of something precious. The component 目 (eye) at the top represents looking or seeing, while 八 (eight, or sometimes "divide/spread") at the bottom suggests openness or expansion. Together, they create the sense of something that stands out and catches the eye — something worthy of attention and respect. Over time, this visual combination came to mean anything that is valuable, honored, or held in high regard.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 12
- Kangxi radical
- 154
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 6 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #970 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+08CB4