傍 — Bystander / Side / Besides / While

Master (高手)ぼう, かたわ, わき, おか-, はた, そば

Radical ⼈ · radical 9 The building block this kanji is filed under

傍 (readings: ぼう, かたわ, わき, おか-, はた, そば; Japanese kanji) means “Bystander / Side / Besides / While”. It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 傍観 (looking on).

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What does 傍 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	傍
Meaning	Bystander / Side / Besides / While
Readings	ぼう, かたわ, わき, おか-, はた, そば
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	傍観 (looking on)

How to read 傍

傍 is read ぼう or かたわ or わき or おか- or はた or そば depending on the word.

Words with 傍

傍観đứng nhìn

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Updated: 2026-07-22