# こう
## Japanese
### Etymology 1

* Alternative spelling
* 斯う
/kaku/ → /kau/ → /kɔː/ → /koː/
Shift from 斯(か)く (kaku).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) こー [kòó] (Heiban – [0])
* (Tokyo) こー [kóꜜò] (Atamadaka –)
* IPA: [ko̞ː]
* This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

#### Adverb

こう • (kō)
* like this, in this way, so, thus
    私(わたし)はこうだと思(おも)う。
       Watashi wa kō da to omou.
       I think it's so.
    こうやればよいのだ。
       Kō yareba yoi no da.
       It's okay to do it like this.

##### Usage notes

This term is often spelled in hiragana.

##### Derived terms

* こういう (kōiu)
* こうして (kōshite)
* こうした (kōshita)
* ああ言(い)えばこう言(い)う (ā ieba kō iu)

##### See also

| | ko- “this” (close to speaker) | so- “that” (close to listener) | a- “that over there” (far from both) | do- “which” (indeterminate, question) |
| Object | これ (kore) | それ (sore) | あれ (are) | どれ (dore) |
| Object | これら (korera) | それら (sorera) | あれら (arera) | — |
| Determiner | この (kono) | その (sono) | あの (ano) | どの (dono) |
| Determiner | これらの (korera no) | それらの (sorera no) | あれらの (arera no) | — |
| Kind | こんな (konna) | そんな (sonna) | あんな (anna) | どんな (donna) |
| Kind | こういう (kō iu) | そういう (sō iu) | ああいう (ā iu) | どういう (dō iu) |
| Place | ここ (koko) | そこ (soko) | あそこ (asoko)* | どこ (doko) |
| Place | こっから (kokkara) | そっから (sokkara) | — | どっから (dokkara) |
| Direction / Human | こちら (kochira) | そちら (sochira) | あちら (achira) | どちら (dochira) |
| Direction / Human | こなた (konata) | そなた (sonata) | あなた (anata) | どなた (donata) |
| Direction | こっち (kotchi) | そっち (sotchi) | あっち (atchi) | どっち (dotchi) |
| Human | こいつ (koitsu)$^†$ | そいつ (soitsu)$^†$ | あいつ (aitsu)$^†$ | どいつ (doitsu)$^†$ |
| Manner | こう (kō) | そう (sō) | ああ (ā)** | どう (dō) |
| Degree | これくらい (kore kurai) | それくらい (sore kurai) | あれくらい (are kurai) | どれくらい (dore kurai) |
| Degree | これだけ (kore dake) | それだけ (sore dake) | あれだけ (are dake) | どれだけ (dore dake) |
| Degree | これほど (kore hodo) | それほど (sore hodo) | あれほど (are hodo) | どれほど (dore hodo) |
| * irregular ** regular (long vowel) † potentially rude or derogatory |||||
| | a-/wa- “I, we” (first person) | na-/-ma- “you, ye, thou” (second person) | k- “this” (close to speaker) | s- “that” (close to listener) | a-/ka- “that over there” (far from both) | i-/ta-/nani- “who, what, where, how, when” (interrogative) | ono- “oneself” (reflexive) |
| Person | あ (a) あれ (are) わ (wa) われ (ware) まろ (maro) | な (na) なれ (nare) なんぢ (nanji) まし (mashi) いまし (imashi) みまし (mimashi) きみ (kimi) | こ (ko) これ (kore) | そ (so) それ (sore) | あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) | た (ta) たれ (tare) なにがし (nanigashi) | おの (ono) おのれ (onore) |
| Thing | | | こ (ko) これ (kore) | そ (so) それ (sore) | あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) | いづれ (izure) なに (nani) | |
| Location | | | ここ (koko) | そこ (soko) | あしこ (ashiko) かしこ (kashiko) | いづく (izuku) いづこ (izuko) いどこ (idoko) どこ (doko) | |
| Direction | | | こち (kochi) こなた (konata) | そち (sochi) そなた (sonata) | あち (achi) あなた (anata) かなた (kanata) | いづち (izuchi) いづら (izura) いづかた (izukata) | |
| Manner | | | か (ka) かく (kaku) かくて (kakute) かう (kō) | さ (sa) さて (sate) しか (shika) | | いか (ika) | |
| Time | | | | | | いつ (itsu) | |

### Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of こう – see the following entries. :
| 【口】1 | [counter] used to count people [counter] used to count bladed weapons or tools |
| 【校】1 | [counter] schools |
| 【公】2 | [noun] (honorific) a European sovereign prince [noun] (honorific) a duke; in China and Vietnam, an alternative to 王 (ō, “prince”), used by certain dynasties for princes [noun] (familiar) used as suffix to denote familiarity with or disdain for someone or an animal |
| 【光】2 | [affix] light, gleam, shine [affix] gleaming, shining [affix] scenery [affix] glory, honor/honour, pride [affix] enlightening [affix] exhaust, run out [proper noun] a male or female given name |
| 【行】2 | [noun] going; travelling (UK), traveling (US) [noun] type of classical Chinese verse (usually an epic) [noun] (archaic) merchant's association; guild [proper noun] a unisex given name |
| 【後】2 | [prefix] prefixing element in kanji compounds, adding a meaning of later, after, following, rearward |
| 【高】2 | [prefix] high, higher |
| 【黄】2 | [affix] yellow |
| 【幸】3 | [noun] good luck, good fortune; happiness [noun] an appearance by the emperor or a retired emperor |
| 【功】4 | [noun] a success, a great achievement |
| 【候】4 | [noun] (literary) the season, the weather of the current season |
| 【効】5 | [noun] efficacy, benefit, effect |
| 【講】5 | [suffix] reading or lecture [suffix] reading of sacred scriptures by Buddhist monks [suffix] gathering of monks and laity for Buddhist rites [suffix] lay association of Buddhist or Shinto believers [suffix] mutual financial assistance association |
| 【后】6 | [affix] monarch, ruler, sovereign [affix] empress, queen, or other female monarch |
| 【孝】6 | [noun] filial piety |
| 【皇】6 | [affix] Creator [affix] monarch, ruler, sovereign [affix] emperor, mikado, tenno [affix] Japan, Japanese [proper noun] a unisex given name |
| 【紅】6 | [noun] the color crimson, a vivid red edging towards pink [affix] crimson [affix] safflower [affix] female [affix] Substitute character for 工: work done by women [proper noun] a female given name |
| 【巧】S | [proper noun] a male given name |
| 【甲】S | [noun] carapace, shell [noun] something A [noun] first in rank [noun] instep or the back of the hand [noun] the first party [proper noun] the first of the ten heavenly stems |
| 【江】S | [noun] (archaic) large river [proper noun] short for 長江 (Chōkō): the Yangtze River [proper noun] old name for 琵琶湖 (Biwa-ko): Lake Biwa [proper noun] a surname [proper noun] a unisex given name |
| 【坑】S | [noun] pit, usually of a mine |
| 【更】S | [noun] one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was divided in ancient China |
| 【虹】S | [affix] rainbow [affix] rainbowlike |
| 【香】4 | [noun] incense |
| 【貢】S | [noun] tribute [noun] support, a contribution (such as a donation of money) [proper noun] a male given name |
| 【喉】S | [counter] counter for fish |
| 【項】S | [noun] section [noun] (mathematics) term [noun] (linguistics) argument |
| 【溝】S | [noun] ditch, channel [noun] groove, furrow [number] [from 17th c.] a hundred nonillion, equivalent to 10$^{32}$ |
| 【綱】S | [noun] (taxonomy) class |
| 【稿】S | [verb] to write (a manuscript/rough copy) |
| 【劫】J | [noun] (Buddhism) kalpa: a unit of time in Buddhist cosmology [noun] (go) a position in which two alternating stones can be captured and recaptured indefinitely |
| 【庚】J | [proper noun] the seventh of the ten heavenly stems |
| 【請う】 | [verb] to ask, beg, request, entreat, appeal, solicit Alternative spelling 乞う |
| 【恋う】 | [verb] (literary) to miss; to love; to have a deep affection for |
(This term, こう (kō), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as こう, see Category:Japanese kanji read as こう.) :
(The following entries do not have a page created for them yet: 工, 広, 交, 考, 向, 港, 好, 航, 康, 厚, 格, 耕, 鉱, 構, 興, 降, 鋼, 勾, 孔, 仰, 抗, 攻, 拘, 肯, 侯, 恒, 洪, 荒, 郊, 耗, 控, 梗, 慌, 硬, 絞, 酵, 衡, 購, 弘, 宏, 昂, 肴, 巷, 恰, 倖, 浩, 皓, 腔, 膏, 鴻, 亢, 叩, 肛, 肓, 咬, 哄, 垢, 恍, 狡, 哮, 逅, 寇, 淆, 皎, 閘, 睾, 膠, 薨, 曠.)

### References

* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN