抗 means “oppose, resist, anti-”

こう · kou

Also: confront, defy

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

あらがう

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

コウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 7 strokes

The story

A hand (扌) raised and the head held high (亢): standing up to someone. 抗議 is a protest, 対抗 is rivalry, 抗生物質 are antibiotics, and every Japanese parent knows the 反抗期, a child's rebellious phase.

Used in 抗議 (kougi, protest), 対抗 (taikou, rivalry/opposition), and 反抗 (hankou, defiance/rebellion)

More from Block & Refuse

• 廃 abolish
• 障 obstacle
• 避 avoid
• 撤 withdraw
• 抑 suppress
• 拒 refuse
• 棄 abandon
• 却 send back
• 控 refrain
• 排 expel
• 抵 resist
• 阻 obstruct

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

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