望 — “hope / desire” in Japanese

Grade 4ぼう, もう, のぞ

Radical ⽉ · radical 74 The building block this kanji is filed under

“hope / desire” in Japanese is 望, read bou, mou, nozo (ぼう, もう, のぞ). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 希望 (hope).

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What does 望 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	望
Meaning	hope / desire
Readings	ぼう, もう, のぞ
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	希望 (hope)

How to read 望

望 is read bou (ぼう) or mou (もう) or nozo (のぞ) depending on the word.

Words with 望

希望きぼう
欲望
眺望
渇望
羨望

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Kanji read the same way as 望

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Updated: 2026-08-28