如 means “like, as, such as”

じょ · jo

Also: likeness, as if

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ごとし

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ジョ, ニョ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 6 strokes

The story

A woman (女) and a mouth (口): the Shuowen reads 如 as following what is said, and so "as, like". 突如 is all of a sudden, 欠如 is a lack, 如実に is vividly true to life, and 如来, a title of the Buddha, reads にょ.

Used in 突如 (totsujo, suddenly), 欠如 (ketsujo, lack/absence), and 如実 (nyojitsu, true to life)

More from Formal Words

• 宜 fitting
• 猶 delay
• 又 again
• 甚 extremely
• 但 however
• 且 moreover
• 僅 only
• 及 reach
• 故 cause
• 為 do
• 致 bring about
• 是 right

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.