# 望 — hope; gaze far off

望 means “hope; gaze far off”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. On'yomi: ボウ (bou), モウ (mou). Kun'yomi: のぞ(む) (nozomu), もち (mochi). You'll see it in words such as 望み (nozomi, “wish; desire”).

- Meaning: hope; gaze far off
- On'yomi: ボウ (bou), モウ (mou)
- Kun'yomi: のぞ(む) (nozomu), もち (mochi)
- Strokes: 11
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Feelings 1

## How to remember 望

The moon (月) over a king (王) who has fallen (亡): all he can do is hope.

Sounds like 亡: both read ボウ.

Parts: 亡 deceased · 月 moon; flesh · 王 king

## Words with 望

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 望み | のぞみ (nozomi) | wish; desire |
| 望む | のぞむ (nozomu) | to desire; to want |
| 望ましい | のぞましい (nozomashii) | desirable; hoped for |

## More in the “Feelings 1” set

[感](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/feeling/) · [情](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/emotion/) · [望](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/hope/) · [苦](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/bitter/) · [幸](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/happiness/) · [悲](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/sad/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/hope/. Last updated 2026-11-01.