越 — “Surpass / Cross Over / Move To / Exceed” in Japanese

Master (高手)えつ, おつ, こ, -こ, -ご

Radical ⾛ · radical 156 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Surpass / Cross Over / Move To / Exceed” in Japanese is 越, read etsu, otsu, ko (えつ, おつ, こ, -こ, -ご). 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 超越 (transcendence).

Try it now

What does 越 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	越
Meaning	Surpass / Cross Over / Move To / Exceed
Readings	えつ, おつ, こ, -こ, -ご
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	超越 (transcendence)

How to read 越

越 is read etsu (えつ) or otsu (おつ) or ko (こ) or ko (-こ) or go (-ご) depending on the word.

Words with 越

超越
卓越

Learn 越 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Updated: 2026-08-28