till, plow, cultivate
On'yomi (音読み)
- コウ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- たがや.す
About this kanji
The kanji 耕, pronounced as 'こう' in on'yomi and 'たがやす' in kun'yomi, primarily means to till, plow, or cultivate land. It is often used as a verb, as in 耕す (たがやす), which means 'to till'. You might also encounter the noun compound 耕作 (こうさく), meaning 'cultivation', as well as 農耕 (のうこう), which refers to 'farming'. Another useful compound is 耕地 (こうち), meaning 'arable land'. A quick note: you'll also find the term 休耕 (きゅうこう), which describes land that is lying fallow, meaning it isn't being actively cultivated. This kanji is closely tied to agriculture and the act of preparing soil for crops.
Example sentences
農民たちは田畑を耕している。
Farmers are cultivating the fields.
Meanings across languages
- English
- till, plow, cultivate
- Tiếng Việt
- cày
- 日本語
- 耕す
- 한국어
- 경작
- 中文
- 耕作
- id
- membajak
- th
- ไถ
- es
- arar
- fr
- cultiver
- de
- eggen
- pt
- cultivar
Common compounds
- 耕すたがやすto till, to plow, to plough
- 耕作こうさくcultivation, farming
- 農耕のうこうfarming, agriculture, cultivation
- 耕地こうちarable land, plantation, farmland
- 休耕きゅうこうlying fallow, leaving a field uncultivated
- 水耕すいこうhydroponics
- 耕具こうぐfarm tools, farm implements
- 深耕しんこうdeep plowing, deep ploughing
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.