Word
Kana: きたい Romaji: kitai Level: N3

期待

Meaning in English

expectation, hope, anticipation

Stroke order

Animated kanji stroke order

Sentence

Related sentences

Related sentences

There are no published items in this section yet.

Dictionary

Word context

What it means

What does 期待 mean? It denotes the state of looking forward to something, an expectation or anticipation that something will occur, often carrying a hopeful or confident tone.

Main meanings

  • anticipation toward a future event or outcome
  • hope or confidence that something will turn out as desired
  • in formal contexts, a standard of performance or forecast that is expected to be met

How to use it

Used as a noun to express expectation or anticipation about future events; in casual conversation it appears in everyday talk, while in formal writing or business contexts it discusses forecasts, goals, and outcomes; the verb form is created with 期待する to express the action of expecting.

Variants and close terms

  • 希望 (kibō) — hope
  • 期待する (kitai suru) — to expect
  • 失望 (shitsubō) — disappointment

Composition

  • 期: time, term, designated point in time
  • 待: to wait, to await
  • Together they form a concept of waiting for a designated time, i.e., an expectation

Etymology

期 (time/term) + 待 (to wait) combine into a Sino-Japanese kitai compound; the pronunciation follows on'yomi readings ki and tai, yielding the current kitai reading.

Word class

noun (名詞); can form a verb with suru: 期待する

Word

Related words by kanji and components

Kanji

Related kanji