忙 — “Busy / Occupied / Restless” in Japanese

Master (高手)ぼう, もう, いそが, せわ, おそ, うれえるさま

Radical ⼼ · radical 61 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Busy / Occupied / Restless” in Japanese is 忙, read bou, mou, isoga (ぼう, もう, いそが, せわ, おそ, うれえるさま). 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 多忙 (busy).

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What does 忙 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	忙
Meaning	Busy / Occupied / Restless
Readings	ぼう, もう, いそが, せわ, おそ, うれえるさま
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	多忙 (busy)

How to read 忙

忙 is read bou (ぼう) or mou (もう) or isoga (いそが) or sewa (せわ) or oso (おそ) or ureerusama (うれえるさま) depending on the word.

Words with 忙

多忙

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Kanji read the same way as 忙

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28