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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "humble" in Japanese?
謙虚
kenkyo
In Japanese, "humble" is 謙虚 (kenkyo).
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Pronunciation
Ken-kyo, two syllables, 'kyo' blended as one sound, not 'key-oh' said separately.
Writing and usage
謙虚 is written using kanji. It's a adjective, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
成功にもかかわらず謙虚さを保ちました。
seikou nimokakawarazu kenkyo sawo tamochi mashita.
She stayed humble despite her success.
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How to remember 謙虚
Kenkyo sounds like 'ken, cho' — even a strong man named Ken can bow his head and stay humble.
Related words
- ancient 古代 kodai
- modern モダンな modan na
- traditional 伝統的な dentouteki na
- modernized 近代化された kindaika sareta
- stingy ケチ kechi
- arrogant 傲慢だ gouman da
- flexible 柔軟な juunanna
- rigid 硬い katai
- fragile 壊れやすい koware yasui
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 謙虚
How do you pronounce 謙虚?
Ken-kyo, two syllables, 'kyo' blended as one sound, not 'key-oh' said separately.
Is 謙虚 formal or casual?
謙虚 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 謙虚 written in Japanese?
謙虚 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as kenkyo.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Humble" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
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