字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

transcend, super-, ultra-

On’yomi チョウ
Kun’yomi こ.える、こ.す
Nanori まさる、わたる

Origin

This character combines "walk" or "run" on the left with a sound component on the right that suggests the pronunciation "chō". The meaning of transcendence or going beyond likely comes from the idea of running past something or moving beyond a limit. Over time, the "running" sense was abstracted to mean exceeding or surpassing in a more general way, eventually giving us the "super-" or "ultra-" sense we see today.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).

超 12 strokes

Components

  • 走 radical bottom-left wrap
  • 召 sound hint nyoc

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 超越 ちょうえつ transcendence; transcendency
  • 超過 ちょうか excess; surplus
  • 超人 ちょうじん superman; superwoman
  • 超音速 ちょうおんそく supersonic speed
  • 超特急 ちょうとっきゅう super express
  • 超音波 ちょうおんぱ ultrasonic waves; ultrasound
  • 超党派 ちょうとうは suprapartisan; multiparty
  • 超伝導 ちょうでんどう superconductivity; super-conductivity

Related kanji

Same sound component 召
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
12
Kangxi radical
156
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#597 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+08D85