憬 means “yearning”

けい · kei

Also: yearn for, aspire to, admire

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

あこがれる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ケイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 15 strokes

The story

The heart (忄) beside a view (景): picture gazing at a far-off landscape you ache to reach. 憬 almost never stands alone: it lives in 憧憬, a written word for longing, read しょうけい and also, very commonly, どうけい.

Used in 憧憬 (shoukei, longing/aspiration)

More from Joy & Sorrow

• 鬱 gloom
• 歓 delight
• 慰 console
• 悔 regret
• 奮 stir up
• 嘆 lament
• 憂 anxiety
• 惜 a pity
• 憾 regret
• 哀 sorrow
• 悦 joy
• 慨 deep emotion

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

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