望
望 — Ambition
ambition, full moon, hope, desire, aspire to, expect
On’yomiボウ (bou)
On’yomiモウ (mou)
Kun’yomiのぞむ (nozomu)
Kun’yomiもち (mochi)
Stroke order (11 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 望
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 希望 | きぼう kibou | hope; wish; aspiration |
| 要望 | ようぼう youbou | demand for; request |
| 展望 | てんぼう tenbou | view; outlook; prospect |
| 絶望 | ぜつぼう zetsubou | despair; hopelessness |
| 志望 | しぼう shibou | wish; desire; ambition |
| 望み | のぞみ nozomi | wish; desire; hope |
Study notes
望 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #470 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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