希
希 — Hope
hope, beg, request, pray, beseech, Greece
On’yomiキ (ki)
On’yomiケ (ke)
Kun’yomiまれ (mare)
Kun’yomiこいねがう (koinegau)
Stroke order (7 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 希
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 希望 | きぼう kibou | hope; wish; aspiration |
| 希薄 | きはく kihaku | thin (air); weak (liquid); dilute |
| 希少 | きしょう kishou | scarce; rare |
| 古希 | こき koki | 70th birthday; ancient Greek (language) |
| 希求 | ききゅう kikyuu | longing; strong desire; aspiration |
| 希代 | きたい kitai | uncommon; rare; extraordinary |
Study notes
希 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #896 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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