漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements
望: ambition, full moon
Also: hope, desire, aspire to, expect
王 carries the meaning · 亡 gives the sound
Oracle bone · Shang Bronze · Western Zhou Small seal · Qin Today
Oracle bone: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Bronze and small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Three readings, and the words that use each
ボウbou · on'yomi · in compounds
- 希望するきぼうするhope [v.t.]
- 要望するようぼうするrequest [v.t.]
- 絶望するぜつぼうするdespair [v.t.]
- 失望するしつぼうするbe disappointed
- 望遠鏡ぼうえんきょうtelescope
- 欲望よくぼうdesire [n.]
モウmou · on'yomi
- 本望ほんもうlong cherished ambition
のぞむnozomu · kun'yomi · on its own
- 望むのぞむwish for
- 望ましいのぞましいdesirable
Also read もち, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)臣 eye + 𡈼 person standing on the ground
Originally written 𦣠, an ideogrammic compound (會意): 臣 (“eye”) + 𡈼 (“person standing on the ground”) – a person standing up and looking off into the distance. Later 月 (“moon”) was added to produce 朢.
Source: Wiktionary, 望 (rev. 92512175), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Moon (月) + king + looking person. A person (the king) "looking" at the "full moon" and making a "wish" or "hoping" for a bright future.”
Connections
Also built on deceased (亡)
望 takes the 亡 family's reading, ボウ (bou).
Also read モウ
11 kanji share this on'yomiIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · wàng
Same form: 望 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 望 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 望 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin wàng most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.