寇
bandits, thieves, enemy, invade
Readings
On'yomi
- コウ
Kun'yomi
- あだ.する
Meaning
寇 centers on hostile outsiders who take by force: bandits, thieves, or an invading enemy. The idea is violent intrusion and plunder.
Most common words using 寇
- 寇こう
invasion; invader
- 侵寇しんこう
harmful military conquest; occupation of other countries
- 倭寇わこう
wokou; wakō; Japanese pirates who raided the Chinese and Korean coastlines between the 13th and 16th centuries
- 元寇げんこう
Mongol invasions of Japan (1274, 1281)
- 入寇にゅうこう
invasion; incursion
- 司寇しこう
Minister of Justice (Zhou dynasty China)
- 外寇がいこう
foreign invasion; foreign attack; foreign force
- 寇するこうする
to invade
- 来寇らいこう
invasion; raid; inroad
Study
Etymology
寇 combines 宀 (roof/house) with 元 (head/person) and 攴 (action/strike), suggesting a person striking under a roof—an intruder or raider. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the component combination fits the meaning of invasion or banditry.
Meaning mnemonic
Under a roof 宀, a person 元 is struck by a hand holding a stick 攴—imagine bandits breaking into a house and attacking. That violent intrusion is the core of 寇.
Reading mnemonic
For コウ, picture a gang of bandits shouting 'KO! KO!' as they invade a village: the sound 'KO' cues コウ while they strike and plunder.