郷
home town, village, native place, district
Readings
On'yomi
- キョウ
- ゴウ
Kun'yomi
- さと
Nanori
- くに
Meaning
郷 centers on a person's place of origin or belonging: a home town, native village, or the district one comes from.
Most common words using 郷
20 of 77- 故郷ふるさとN3
hometown; birthplace; native place; one's old home
- 故郷こきょうN3
hometown; birthplace; native place; one's old home
- 郷きょう
hometown
- 郷ごう
countryside; country
- 郷土きょうどN1
native place; birth-place; one's old home
- 本郷ほんごう
one's hometown
- 帰郷ききょう
homecoming; return to one's home
- 理想郷りそうきょう
ideal land; earthly paradise; Utopia; Arcadia
- 同郷どうきょうN1
(being from the) same town (province, birthplace, etc.)
- 温泉郷おんせんきょう
hot-spring village; onsen village
- 生まれ故郷うまれこきょう
one's birthplace
- 郷愁きょうしゅうN1
nostalgia; homesickness
- 桃源郷とうげんきょう
earthly paradise; Shangri-la
- 郷里きょうりN1
hometown; birthplace
- 水郷すいごう
beautiful riverside location; lakeside district; canal district
- 望郷ぼうきょう
homesickness; nostalgia
- 郷士ごうし
country samurai
- 異郷いきょう
foreign country; foreign land; strange land; far-off land
- 在郷ざいごう
being in one's hometown
- 郷土色きょうどしょく
local color; local colour
Study
Etymology
郷 combines a phonetic element related to 卿 with the village radical ⻏, suggesting a place or community. The exact historical development of the left side is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The right side is the village radical ⻏, and the left side looks like a person returning to their roots. Picture someone walking back to their home village, the place they belong.
Reading mnemonic
For キョウ, imagine a person returning to their home town and being greeted with a loud 'kyou!' (like 'cue!') of recognition: kyou -> キョウ.