Meaning & readings
request, want, wish for, require, demand
On’yomi キュウ、グ
Kun’yomi もと.める
Origin
The character 求 most likely combines the idea of water (氺) with a dot or small mark to create a compound meaning. Water naturally flows and moves, which metaphorically represents the active pursuit or reaching toward something. Over time, this visual idea of movement and striving became associated with the concepts of requesting, wanting, or demanding—all actions where you actively reach out toward something you need. The simple, flowing strokes of the character capture this sense of active pursuit.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).
Components
- 氺
- 丶
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 7
- Kangxi radical
- 85
- Grade
- Grade 4 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #220 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+06C42