孝 means “filial piety”

こう · kou

Also: child's respect

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

コウ, キョウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 6 · 7 strokes

The story

The top of 老, old (耂), resting on a child (子): a son or daughter holding up their elders. 孝 is devotion to parents: 親孝行 is doing right by them, treating them to a trip, say, and a child who lets them down is 親不孝.

Used in 親孝行 (oyakoukou, devotion to one's parents), 孝行 (koukou, filial devotion), and 親不孝 (oyafukou, being an undutiful child)

More from Loyalty & Duty

• 徳 virtue
• 忠 loyalty
• 誠 sincerity
• 倫 ethics
• 仁 benevolence
• 貞 chastity
• 慈 mercy
• 衷 innermost feelings
• 義 righteousness
• 善 good

Learn 孝 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

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