お

お	U+304A, お HIRAGANA LETTER O

← ぉ
[U+3049]

Hiragana

か →
[U+304B]

Japanese

Stroke order

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 於 in the cursive sōsho style.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [o̞]
Audio: (file)

Syllable

お • (o)

The hiragana syllable お (o). Its equivalent in katakana is オ (o). It is the fifth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is あ行お段 (a-gyō o-dan, “row a, section o”).

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of お – see the following entries.

【諾】S	[interjection] (archaic) interjection expressing consent or agreement; yes, alright, okay Alternative spellings う, せ

【尾】S	[noun] tail [noun] foot of a mountain [noun] end of something

【峰】S	[noun] (obsolete) a small place in the mountain [noun] (obsolete) hill, hilltop [noun] (obsolete) peak, ridge Alternative spelling 丘

【麻】S	[noun] the hemp or ramie plant [noun] thread or yarn made from fibers derived from the bark of hemp or ramie stems

【苧】H	[noun] synonym of 麻 (asa, “hemp”) or synonym of 苧 (karamushi, “ramie”) [noun] thread made from the outer husk of the stems of hemp or ramie [noun] a textile made from this thread Alternative spelling 麻

【雄】S	[noun] (obsolete in isolation) man, male [noun] (obsolete) husband [noun] something large, powerful, or otherwise masculine [noun] yang (as opposed to yin) Alternative spellings 男, 牡, 夫

【男】1	[noun] a man [noun] a husband [noun] a male [noun] something large, powerful, or otherwise masculine Alternative spellings 夫, 雄, 牡

【緒】S	[noun] string, cord, thong [noun] (specifically) string of a geta or sandal

【小】1	[prefix] attached to certain nouns: [prefix] small in shape or scale [prefix] attached to certain names to give expression or feelings (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) [prefix] used proverbially to represent "small" or "slight" (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

【御】S

[prefix] (attaches to nouns)

[prefix] (honorific) used to respectfully refer to something that belongs to or is related to the listener or a third party

[prefix] (honorific, often with 様(さま) (-sama) or さん (-san)) used to respectfully refer to a person or group

[prefix] (polite) adds refinement

[prefix] (attaches to verbs in continuative form or nouns denoting actions)

[prefix] (honorific, with ください (kudasai)) used to respectfully issue a command or request

[prefix] (honorific, with だ (da), です (desu)) used to respectfully express the progressive aspect (see いる (iru))

[prefix] (honorific, with になる (ni naru)) used to respectfully describe the actions of another

[prefix] (humble, with する (suru), 致(いた)す (itasu), etc.) used to humbly describe one's own actions that affect someone else

[prefix] (dated, with なさい (nasai)) used to form imperative expressions for use with those of lower status

[prefix] short for お (o-) なさい (nasai); used to form imperative expressions for use with those of lower status

[prefix] (attaches to adjectives)

[prefix] (polite) adds refinement

[prefix] (honorific) used to show respect to the person to whom the adjective applies

[prefix] (dated, attaches to female names) 阿, 於: used to affectionately refer to a woman or girl

Alternative spellings
阿, 於

【悪】3	[affix] hate, loathe

【汚】S	[affix] dirty

(This term, お (o), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as お, see Category:Japanese kanji read as お.

(The following entries do not have a page created for them yet: 丘, 魚, 牡, 夫.)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Syllable

See also

Etymology 2