This site will be taken down March 31st, 2026.

This was not an easy decision to make. For the last couple years, I have been struggling to find motivation for this site and to keep up with basic maintenance and security updates. With the rise of AI and more sophisticated tools, the usefulness of sites like this is questionable and traffic has nose-dived. I just don't have it in me to keep doing this. Thank you all for 10 years of support!

Zach

Readings

Kana: フ、ホ、こわ.い、こわ.がる、お.じる、おそ.れる
Romaji: fu, ho, kowa.i, kowa.garu, o.jiru, oso.reru
Kana
Romaji

Meanings

dreadful, be frightened, fearful

Stroke Diagram

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Kanji Info

Stroke Count:  8
Radical Number:  61
Frequency:  1325
Grade:  8
Skip Pattern:  1-3-5
Korean Reading:  po
Chinese Reading:  bu4
Unicode:  6016
JIS:  495D

Indexes

Halpern Index: 296
Nelson Index: 1662
New Nelson Index: 1817
Spahn Hadamitzky Index: 4k5.6
Four Corner Index: 9402.7
Guide to Remembering Index: 1749
Gakken Index: 1593
Daikanwanjiten Index: 10450
Daikanwanjiten Index and Page: 4.0992
Remembering the kanji Index: 623
Kanji Flashcards Index: 534
Kodansha Compact Index: 810
Kanji in Context Index: 1451
1999 Kanji Learners Index: 219
2013 Kanji Learners Index: 263
French Remembering the Kanji Index: 630
Remembering the Kanji 6th Index: 670
Essential Kanji Index: 1784
Kodansha Kanji Index: 353
Roo 2001 Kanji Index: 1144
Tuttle Kanji Cards Index: 1173

Words

(こわ)
frightening; terrifying
怖い (こわい)
scary; frightening; eerie; dreadful; (I'm) afraid
怖がる (こわがる)
to be afraid of; to fear; to dread; to be nervous (about); to be shy (of)
人怖じ (ひとおじ)
bashfulness before strangers
高所恐怖症 (こうしょきょうふしょう)
fear of heights; acrophobia
恐怖 (きょうふ、くふ)
fear; dread; dismay; terror; horror; scare; panic
恐怖症 (きょうふしょう)
morbid fear; phobia
畏怖 (いふ)
awe; fear; fright
怖気づく (おじけづく、おじけつく)
to be seized with fear; to be intimidated; to lose one's nerve; to be frightened; to get cold feet; to chicken out; to have the wind up
社会恐怖症 (しゃかいきょうふしょう)
social phobias
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