The kanji 王 fundamentally represents "king" or "ruler." It signifies someone who holds the highest position of authority in a kingdom or nation, embodying leadership, power, and sovereignty. The character embodies the idea of a central figure directing and governing.

・On-yomi (音読み): オウ (ō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, as the meaning is often directly conveyed without a specific native Japanese reading.

⚫︎ 国王 (こくおう) Translation: King ⚫︎ 女王 (じょおう) Translation: Queen ⚫︎ 国王陛下 (こくおうへいか) Translation: His Majesty the King

The kanji 王 is a pictograph. It depicts the shape of a person standing upright, with the horizontal strokes representing the head and arms. Over time, the form simplified. It evolved to specifically represent a ruler or a king, the most important person in a kingdom. The vertical line suggests a central figure, and the horizontal lines indicate power and authority. This character, and related characters with the same stroke structure (such as 玉) were influenced by earlier Chinese characters.