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請う (こう, kou) Japanese meaning: beg | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N2 › Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Conjugation 請う · godan verb (-u, special)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 請こ う 請こ わない Polite 請こ います 請こ いません Past polite 請こ いました 請こ いませんでした Past 請こ うた 請こ わなかった Te-form 請こ うて 請こ わないで Desire 請こ いたい 請こ いたくない Potential 請こ える 請こ えない Passive 請こ われる 請こ われない Causative 請こ わせる 請こ わせない Causative passive 請こ わせられる also 請こ わされる 請こ わせられない also 請こ わされない Volitional 請こ おう Polite volitional 請こ いましょう Imperative 請こ え 請こ うな Conditional 請こ えば 請こ わなければ Tara conditional 請こ うたら 請こ わなかったら
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彼かれ
は
命いのち
だけ
は
助たす
け
て
くれ
と
請こ
う
た
。
I ask for your understanding.
Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 に 許ゆる しを 乞こ う to beg someone for forgiveness
He begged the teacher for forgiveness.
神かみ に 〈 事こと 〉 を 乞こ う to pray to god for something
The farmers prayed to the gods for rain.
ご 了りょう 承しょう を 乞こ う to formally request someone's understanding
I will explain the situation and ask for your understanding.
命いのち を 乞こ う to beg for one's life
The captured man begged for his life.
Expressions 乞こ うご 期き 待たい don't miss it; stay tuned; look forward to it 希こいねが わくは I earnestly pray that; I beg that; I yearn that 漿しょう を 乞こ いて 酒さけ を 得う る to get more than one requests; to beg for water and receive wine Related words 願う is the common, neutral verb for wishing or requesting, while 請う is more formal and often appears in set phrases or earnest pleading.
頼む is the everyday verb for asking someone a favor, while 請う is more formal and rarely used in casual conversation.
懇願する emphasizes desperate, repeated pleading, whereas 請う can describe a single formal request or prayer.
乞う is a formal, literary word for begging or requesting, whereas せがむ describes casual, repeated nagging for something.
Word family begging for one's life; pleading for one's life
beggar; begging
praying for rain; rain-making ritual
leave-taking; saying goodbye · requesting leave from work
Written forms 請こ う Usage 38%
Common kanji form; often used for formal requests or inviting.
乞こ う Usage 60%
Common kanji form; often used for begging or requesting.
こう Usage 1%
Etymology The verb 請う (こう) is a native Japanese word with a long history. The kanji 請 and 乞 both convey the idea of requesting or begging, and are used interchangeably in many contexts.
ask for and receive; beg and obtain
