What is the Kanji for "Concept"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Concept", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Concept" is "想".

This kanji has 3 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Omo".

Its onyomi readings are "Sou" and "So".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The kanji "心" means "Heart" and can be read as "Shin" and "Kokoro". And The kanji "相" means "Mutual" and can be read as "Sou", "Shou", and "Ai".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "想" mean in japanese?

"想" means "Concept".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Third Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N3 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

思想: "Thought". The Japanese noun '思想 (しそう)' means 'thought'. It refers to a person's ideas, beliefs, or way of thinking about something. This word is often used in the context of intellectual or philosophical discussions, and can encompass a wide range of topics such as politics, religion, or ethics. For example: His political thought - (彼の政治思想). She has strong religious thoughts - (彼女は強い宗教思想を持っている).

理想: "Ideal". The noun '理想 (りそう)' refers to an ideal, a conception of something in its perfection. This word is used to describe a high standard or model that someone aims to achieve or live up to, often in relation to personal values, goals, or the way society should be organized. For example: My ideal is to become a compassionate doctor - (私の理想は思いやりのある医師になることです). She has a clear vision of her ideal society - (彼女は自分の理想の社会についての明確なビジョンを持っている).

発想: "Idea". The noun '発想 (はっそう)' refers to an original, creative idea or concept. It can describe the act of coming up with a new thought, innovation or way of thinking. '発想' implies an inventive, imaginative or unconventional approach. For example: He had an innovative idea - (彼は斬新な発想をもっていた). The director is known for her creative ideas - (その監督は発想力に定評がある).

空想: "Daydream". The Japanese verbal noun '空想 (くうそう)' means 'daydream'. It refers to the act of imagining or fantasizing about something that is not currently real or happening. People often engage in '空想' when they are bored, relaxed, or trying to come up with new ideas. For example: I often daydream during my commute - (通勤中によく空想をしています). She was lost in her own daydreams - (彼女は自分の空想に夢中になっていた).

可哀想: "Pitiful". The Japanese adjectival noun '可哀想 (かわいそう)' means 'pitiful'. It is used to express sympathy or compassion for someone who is in a difficult or unfortunate situation. For example: I feel so pitiful for that poor child - (あの子供は本当に可哀想だ). He looks so pitiful sitting there alone - (あそこに一人座っている姿が可哀想だ).

構想: "Conception". The Japanese verbal noun '構想 (こうそう)' refers to the act of conceiving or formulating an idea, plan, or design. It implies the mental process of developing a comprehensive scheme or framework for a project, system, or creative work. For example: The architect had a grand conception for the new building - (建築家は新しい建物の構想を持っていた). The company is in the conception phase of their new product line - (同社は新製品ラインの構想段階にある).

想定: "Assumption". The noun '想定 (そうてい)' means 'assumption'. It refers to an idea or belief that is taken to be true or certain to happen, without proof. It is often used in the context of planning or decision making, where assumptions are made about future events or conditions. For example: We made certain assumptions in our business plan - (事業計画では、いくつかの想定を立てました). The government's assumptions about economic growth were overly optimistic - (政府の経済成長に関する想定は過度に楽観的でした).

感想: "Impression". The Japanese noun '感想 (かんそう)' means 'impression'. It refers to the thoughts, feelings, or opinions that someone has about something, usually after experiencing or observing it. It can be used to describe a person's reaction or response to a movie, book, event, or any other experience. For example: I have a good impression of the movie - (その映画の感想はよかった). The teacher asked the students to share their impressions of the field trip - (先生は生徒たちに修学旅行の感想を発表するよう求めた).

幻想: "Fantasy". The noun '幻想 (げんそう)' means 'fantasy'. This word refers to an imaginary situation or sequence of mental images, such as a daydream or a figment of the imagination. It can also be used to describe a fanciful, visionary, or idealized conception of something. For example: Her dream was a fantasy - (彼女の夢は幻想だった). The story had elements of fantasy - (その話には幻想的な要素があった).

予想: "Expect" or "Anticipate". The Japanese verbal noun '予想 (よそう)' means 'expect' or 'anticipate'. It is used to express the act of anticipating or forecasting a future event or outcome. For example: I expect it to rain tomorrow - (明日雨が降ると予想する). We should anticipate the increase in demand - (需要の増加を予想して対策を立てるべきだ).

想像: "Imagine". The verbal noun '想像 (そうぞう)' means 'to imagine'. This term refers to the mental process of forming new ideas, concepts or images that are not physically present. It involves the ability to think creatively and visualize things that do not yet exist. For example: I can imagine a world without war - (私は戦争のない世界が想像できます). She is imagining a happy future - (彼女は幸せな未来を想像している).

連想: "Association". The Japanese noun '連想 (れんそう)' means 'association'. It refers to the mental process of connecting one idea, memory, or perception to another. This word is often used in psychology and cognitive science to describe how the mind makes connections between related concepts. For example: The mention of the word 'dog' triggered an association with the word 'loyal' - (犬'という言葉は'忠実'という言葉と連想させた). Establishing associations is an important part of learning and understanding new information.

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "そ" is read as "so". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "お" is read as "o". And The hiragana "も" is read as "mo".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.