Onyomi: ボウ, モウ · Kunyomi: のぞ.む, もち · Meanings: ambition, aspire to, desire, expect, full moon, hope
Kanji for ambition, aspire to, desire, expect, full moon
Fast lookup with examples and clean stroke-order visualization.
Experience 望 in 3D! View the complete 3D Kanji model to understand its shape and stroke depth from every angle. Click the button below to see 望 in 3D and explore how each stroke forms this character.
Please support us by sharing!
望 is made from 月 (moon) and 亡 (gone) on top, with the bottom part 亡 suggesting looking into the distance. In ancient imagery, people would look at the moon or horizon, hoping and longing for something far away. This act of looking carefully and hoping developed into the meaning of desire, hope, or wishing for something. From this idea, 望 came to mean hope, wish, or to look forward to something.
望 shows looking far into the distance, symbolizing hope or desire.
Picture standing under the moon, gazing into the distance, wishing for your dreams to come true. That hopeful gaze is 望.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 望 | もち | full moon | Noun |
| 望遠鏡 | ぼうえんきょう | telescope | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 望む | のぞむ | to desire, to want, to wish for, to hope for | common JLPT-N3 Godan verb with 'mu' ending, Transitive verb |
| 望み | のぞみ | wish, desire, hope | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 望ましい | のぞましい | desirable, hoped for, preferable, advisable | common JLPT-N1 I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 望み通り | のぞみどおり | as one had hoped, as one wishes | Adverb (fukushi), Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 望月 | もちづき | full moon, moon on the 15th day of the month (by the lunar calendar) | common Noun |
| 望郷 | ぼうきょう | homesickness, nostalgia | Noun |
| 望遠 | ぼうえん | seeing at a distance | Noun |
| 望外 | ぼうがい | unexpected (joy, success, etc.), unanticipated, beyond what one hoped, beyond one's expectations | Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun |