[No. 0030 Kanji] Virtue

This is a 30th kanji on this blog. Let me first thank you all who read KANJI.COM. And this time I'll pick up the kanji above that won on the poll on Facebook page.

"徳" is pronounced as "とく toku" and means "virtue". It sounds a little bit serious, but I think Japanese regard it as very important.

Example:
あのひとは徳（とく）の高（たか）いひとだ。－ He is a person of virtue.
(ano hito ha toku no takai hitoda)

道徳（どうとく）は大切（たいせつ）だ。－ Ethic is important.
(doutoku ha taisetsu da)


As for etymology, this originally consisted of "直" and "心", meaning a obedient mind, which are right side of it. "彳" was added later, which means the appearance walking slowly.

Many Japanese like a person with beautiful mind. For instance, we often don't appreciate a person who is not modest even if he/she looks successful.


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