Meaning
The kanji 俸 means salary, stipend, or emolument — formal, official compensation paid to an employee, government official, or feudal retainer in exchange for service. Unlike the everyday 給料 (きゅうりょう), 俸 belongs to an elevated institutional register. It turns up in government documents, employment contracts, historical texts, and academic writing on labor and compensation.
Structurally, 俸 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei-moji). The left component is 亻, the person radical — a simplified 人 — placing the meaning in a human context. The right component is 奉 (ホウ), meaning "to offer reverently" or "to present formally," and it supplies the on'yomi reading ホウ. Read together: something is formally presented (奉) to a person (亻). That something is their salary.
Historically, 俸 was central to both classical Chinese and Japanese administrative writing. In Japan's feudal era, it described the rice-based stipends paid to samurai by their lords — a system called 俸禄 (ほうろく). The term carried into Meiji-era bureaucracy and has remained standard in formal writing ever since.
10 strokes, 亻(人) radical, Jōyō kanji at secondary level. At N1, it appears most in reading passages covering government, law, business, and Japanese history.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
俸 has one on'yomi: ホウ (hō). This reading comes from the historical Chinese pronunciation and matches the phonetic component 奉. Since 俸 entered Japanese primarily through Chinese administrative texts, ホウ is its only pronunciation. It never appears alone — it works exclusively inside compound words (熟語, jukugo) in formal written contexts.
Key compounds using ホウ:
- 俸給 (hōkyū) — official salary; the standard formal term for pay, especially in government and corporate employment
- 年俸 (nenpō) — annual salary; found in sports contracts, executive packages, and corporate agreements
- 俸禄 (hōroku) — feudal stipend; the rice-denominated salary paid to samurai, essential vocabulary for Edo-period literature
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
俸 has no kun'yomi. This is typical of characters that entered Japanese through Chinese writing rather than the spoken native lexicon. 俸 works only inside compounds and never stands alone. That all-on'yomi profile is its own clue: when 俸 appears in a text, expect formal or institutional writing, not everyday speech.
Common Words & Compounds
Compounds built around 俸 cluster in formal, bureaucratic, and historical domains.
Core Salary Terms:
- 俸給 (hōkyū) — official salary; the most common formal compound with 俸, particularly for government employees and salaried professionals
- 年俸 (nenpō) — annual salary; found in executive contracts, athlete negotiations, and corporate agreements
- 月俸 (geppō) — monthly salary; used in formal employment documentation
- 本俸 (honpō) — base salary; foundational pay before allowances, bonuses, or deductions
- 初俸 (shohō) — starting salary; initial pay upon entering a new position
Pay Adjustments:
- 減俸 (genpō) — salary reduction; a pay cut imposed as a disciplinary sanction in government or corporate settings
- 加俸 (kahō) — additional pay; a supplemental allowance granted on top of base salary
- 昇俸 (shōhō) — salary raise; a formal pay grade increase (昇給 is more common in everyday speech)
Historical and Elevated Register:
- 俸禄 (hōroku) — feudal stipend; rice-denominated pay for samurai retainers; key vocabulary for classical Japanese history
- 高俸 (kōhō) — high salary; generous remuneration, used in formal or literary descriptions of attractive pay packages
Example Sentences
彼の年俸は昨年より大幅に増えた。
Kare no nenpō wa sakunen yori ōhaba ni fueta.
His annual salary jumped significantly from the previous year.
公務員の俸給は法律によって定められている。
Kōmuin no hōkyū wa hōritsu ni yotte sadamerarete iru.
Public servants' salaries are set by law.
不正行為により、彼は減俸の処分を受けた。
Fusei kōi ni yori, kare wa genpō no shobun wo uketa.
He received a pay cut as punishment for misconduct.
江戸時代、武士は米で俸禄をもらっていた。
Edo jidai, bushi wa kome de hōroku wo moratte ita.
In the Edo period, samurai received their stipends in rice.
本俸に加えて、各種手当が支給される。
Honpō ni kuwaete, kakushu teate ga shikyū sareru.
On top of the base salary, various allowances are paid out.
転職した彼女の初俸は、思ったより低かった。
Tenshoku shita kanojo no shohō wa, omotta yori hikukatta.
After changing jobs, her starting salary came in lower than she expected.
優秀な人材を確保するために高俸を提示した。
Yūshū na jinzai wo kakuho suru tame ni kōhō wo teiji shita.
They offered a high salary to attract talented candidates.
今年の昇俸は景気の悪化により見送られた。
Kotoshi no shōhō wa keiki no akka ni yori miokurareta.
This year's pay raise was shelved because of the worsening economy.
月俸は毎月二十五日に支払われる規定だ。
Geppō wa maitsuki nijūgo nichi ni shiharawareru kitei da.
Per regulations, the monthly salary is paid on the 25th of each month.
Memory Tip
Split 俸 into its two halves: on the left, 亻 (a person); on the right, 奉 (to offer reverently). Picture a feudal scene: a retainer stands at attention (亻) while his lord raises a bag of rice with both hands (奉). That rice is the stipend — the 俸. For the reading ホウ, think of "honorarium": both carry the sense of dignified, formal payment for service rather than a casual wage. When 俸 appears in a text, it marks official, institutional pay.