Honor in Japanese: meiyo, explained based on its kanji expression

How to say “honor” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “meiyo”. It is the Japanese word for ‘honor’. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “meiyo”
• “Meiyo” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “honor” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “meiyo”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “meiyo”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “meiyo”.

• meiyo – 名誉 (めいよ) : a noun meaning ‘honor’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Its definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

“Meiyo” in kanji

Below are the kanji characters used in “meiyo”.

• 名 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘name’ in Japanese.
• 誉 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘honor’ in Japanese.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “meiyo” means ‘honor under the name’. This concept seems to be in line with the meaning.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “meiyo” through the detailed kanji check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “meiyo” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “honor” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kore – これ : a demonstrative pronoun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this is used to say “this” in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kore” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• samurai – 侍 (さむらい) : a noun meaning ‘samurai’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “samurai” to make its possessive case. In general, we can use this particle to join two nouns. Normally, the preceding noun can work to modify the meaning of the following noun.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “samurai no meiyo”, to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “meiyo”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “samurai no meiyo”, which means ‘samurai’s honor’ in Japanese.

Example #2: another usage of “meiyo”

Below are the new words and particles used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• no – の : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, this is used after “kare” to make its possessive case, “kare no”, which means ‘his’ in Japanese.
• ga – が : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, this is used after the noun phrase, “kare no meiyo”, to make the subject in the sentence.
• kizutsui – 傷つい (きずつい) : one conjugation of the verb, “kizutsuku”, which means ‘to be hurt’, ‘to get hurt’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “kizutsui” to make its past tense form, “kizutsui ta”.

This is another typical usage of “meiyo”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “meiyo ga kizutsui ta”, which means ‘honor was offended’. This expression should be learnt together with its present tense form, “meiyo ga kizutsuku”.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “meiyo” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• meiyo – 名誉 (めいよ) : a noun meaning ‘honor’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters mean ‘honor under the name’. This concept seems to be in line with the meaning. When we want to say “honor” in Japanese, this word would be the best choice.
• maiyo ga kizutsuku – 名誉が傷つく (めいよがきずつく) : a commonly-used expression for ‘honor is offended’.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.