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Evidence-led referenceJapanese names, readings and kanji
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ReferenceNamesKōshirō
Canonical reference record
JMnedict-backedKANJIDIC2 character context
Japanese given name

Kōshirō

光四郎

Given-name classification varies across source records.

こうしろうコウシロウKōshirō
Compare spellings
Reference coverage

Extended source depth

This reading group has a comparatively broad dictionary footprint across source-recorded spellings or records. The counts describe corpus coverage, not real-world popularity.

Distinct recorded spellings34

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows34

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelExtended

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Kōshirō

The kana reading is source-recorded. Romanization and mora segmentation are deterministic reading aids generated from that kana; pitch accent is not inferred.

Source readingこうしろう

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formコウシロウ

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationKōshirō

Macron-style display. Vowel-sequence form: Koushirou. Personal spelling and true vowel boundaries can differ.

Mora segmentationこ · う · し · ろ · う

5 morae in this reading. Small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana join the preceding mora.

Audio note: the play button uses Japanese text-to-speech provided by the visitor’s browser/device. It is a convenience preview, not a recorded native-speaker pronunciation or pitch-accent authority.

Reading profile

How Kōshirō is represented

These counts describe records in the imported name corpus. They are not a ranking of how popular a spelling is among people in Japan.

Recorded kana readings1

こうしろう

Kanji-based spellings34

among the forms analyzed on this page

Kana characters5

in the primary dictionary reading

Morae5

small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana combine with the preceding mora

3-kanji forms34

recorded spellings

JMnedict classification evidence

How this reading is classified in the source corpus

This separates dictionary classification from popularity. The same exact kana reading can be recorded as a given name, a surname, or both, and given-name records can carry male, female or unspecified source labels.

Primary reading recorded asNo additional class found

こうしろう in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms0

0 source spelling/reading rows

Surname written forms0

0 source spelling/reading rows

Given-name labels—

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
こうじろうKōjirō179181 source rowsmale 169 · unspecified 12source rows · distinct forms: male 167 · unspecified 1200 source rows
こうしろうKōshirō00 source rows—source rows · distinct forms: —00 source rows

Classification boundary: male/female/unspecified are labels attached to imported JMnedict name records. They are not population shares, probabilities, identity claims, or evidence that a spelling is currently common in Japan. A source row can also be repeated across different written forms, so row counts and distinct-writing counts are shown separately.

Spelling anatomy

Corpus structure behind Kōshirō

This section summarizes the exact source-recorded forms loaded for this reading group. Stroke and character-position statistics are descriptive corpus properties, not popularity or style scores.

Kanji forms with complete stroke data34

17–33 strokes observed span

Median total strokes24

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms34

all component kanji loaded as jōyō/jinmeiyō classes

Other/unclassified kanji forms0

contains at least one character outside that loaded classification

Source-reading distribution
ReadingRomanizationMoraeForms
こうしろうKōshirō534
Recurring adjacent kanji sequences
四郎14 analyzed forms志郎7 analyzed forms司郎3 analyzed forms志朗2 analyzed forms史郎2 analyzed forms子郎2 analyzed forms

Shown only when the same adjacent two-kanji sequence occurs in at least two analyzed source forms. Open a sequence in Kanji Pair Research for corpus co-occurrence context.

Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

8 of 34 displayed written forms have more than one given-name reading somewhere in the active JMnedict corpus. This is dictionary-record ambiguity, not a prediction of how a particular person reads the name.

Written forms checked34

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings8

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading26

within this active given-name corpus

Largest reading set4

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

公志郎
2 source-recorded readings
KimishirōきみしろうKōshirōこうしろう · this page
恒四郎
2 source-recorded readings
Kōshirōこうしろう · this pageTsuneshirōつねしろう
晃志郎
2 source-recorded readings
Kōshirōこうしろう · this pageTerushirōてるしろう

A reading shown without a link is still source-recorded, but its destination group does not currently meet the canonical publication standard. Strong reference pages do not promote limited records merely to create extra internal links.

Kanji role reference

How recurring characters function across Kōshirō spellings

Position counts are calculated only from the distinct written forms analyzed for this page. KANJIDIC2 nanori are character-level name-reading references; they are not used here to decompose or assert the reading of a specific multi-kanji name.

KanjiCharacter glossesFormsFirstFinalInternalSoloStrokesKANJIDIC2 nanoriLoaded class
郎son, counter for sons30030009いら, お, とう, もん +2Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
四four14001405あ, つ, よつJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 1
志intention, plan, resolve900907じん, べ, べし, ゆきJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 5
朗clear, bright, distinct4040011—Jinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 10
康ease, peace4400011かん, こ, みち, やす +1Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
司director, official, govt office300305つ, つか, つかさJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
幸happiness, blessing, fortune330008こ, さき, さし, さっ +6Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
晃clear3300010あき, あきら, てる, ひかる +1Jinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9
光ray, light220006あき, あきら, こお, てる +3Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 2
公public, prince, official220004あきら, き, きみ, きん +5Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 2
史history, chronicle200205あきら, あや, お, こ +7Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 5
孝filial piety, child's respect220007たか, たかし, のり, よしJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 6

Counts describe this source-recorded spelling set, not population use. A repeated kanji can contribute to more than one position role across different spellings.

Exact writing research map

Move from a spelling to its readings, characters and literal sequence context

These relationships are exact and source-backed. Whole-name readings shown in each card come from JMnedict within the current name class; exact-writing search can surface records from other name classes. Character links open KANJIDIC2-backed kanji pages. Sequence context means the same kanji string occurs contiguously in another recorded written form—it does not prove shared origin or meaning.

Showing research maps for the first 10 distinct written forms out of 34. Every detailed spelling card below still links to exact-writing search and its component kanji.

For VPS safety, contiguous-sequence lookups are limited to six 2–4 kanji forms per canonical page and cached for 12 hours per active JMnedict generation.

Corpus pattern

Kanji recurring across Kōshirō spellings

Only characters appearing in at least two distinct analyzed spellings are shown here. Frequency describes this source-recorded spelling set, not real-world baby-name popularity.

郎son, counter for sons30 of 34 analyzed forms四four14 of 34 analyzed forms志intention, plan, resolve9 of 34 analyzed forms朗clear, bright, distinct4 of 34 analyzed forms康ease, peace4 of 34 analyzed forms司director, official, govt office3 of 34 analyzed forms幸happiness, blessing, fortune3 of 34 analyzed forms晃clear3 of 34 analyzed forms光ray, light2 of 34 analyzed forms公public, prince, official2 of 34 analyzed forms
Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Kōshirō

34 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading こうしろう. Other source readings can appear in this romanized group when the imported records converge on the same index form. Use Compare to inspect exact spellings side by side.

Spelling comparator

Compare Kōshirō forms side by side

Each exact written spelling appears once in this table even when JMnedict records more than one reading for that writing. Stroke totals and character glosses come from KANJIDIC2 when all component kanji are available.

SpellingOne source readingCharacter-level glossesTotal strokesLoaded character class
光四郎こうしろう光 — ray, light · 四 — four · 郎 — son, counter for sons20All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
光志朗こうしろう光 — ray, light · 志 — intention, plan · 朗 — clear, bright24All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
公史郎こうしろう公 — public, prince · 史 — history, chronicle · 郎 — son, counter for sons18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
公志郎こうしろう公 — public, prince · 志 — intention, plan · 郎 — son, counter for sons20All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
剛司郎こうしろう剛 — sturdy, strength · 司 — director, official · 郎 — son, counter for sons24All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
効四郎こうしろう効 — merit, efficacy · 四 — four · 郎 — son, counter for sons22All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
好四郎こうしろう好 — fond, pleasing · 四 — four · 郎 — son, counter for sons20All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
孝四郎こうしろう孝 — filial piety, child's respect · 四 — four · 郎 — son, counter for sons21All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
孝志郎こうしろう孝 — filial piety, child's respect · 志 — intention, plan · 郎 — son, counter for sons23All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
宏四郎こうしろう宏 — wide, large · 四 — four · 郎 — son, counter for sons21All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
宏志郎こうしろう宏 — wide, large · 志 — intention, plan · 郎 — son, counter for sons23All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
巧史郎こうしろう巧 — adroit, skilled · 史 — history, chronicle · 郎 — son, counter for sons19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
幸司郎こうしろう幸 — happiness, blessing · 司 — director, official · 郎 — son, counter for sons22All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
幸四郎こうしろう幸 — happiness, blessing · 四 — four · 郎 — son, counter for sons22All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
幸志郎こうしろう幸 — happiness, blessing · 志 — intention, plan · 郎 — son, counter for sons24All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
庚子郎こうしろう庚 — 7th, 7th calendar sign · 子 — child, sign of the rat · 郎 — son, counter for sons20All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified

The comparison table shows the first 16 distinct written forms; the detailed cards above show up to 80 spelling/reading records.

What does Kōshirō mean?

There is not necessarily one fixed English meaning. The reading identifies the spoken name; different written forms can use different kanji. Character glosses describe individual kanji and should not be treated as proof of the intention behind a particular person’s name.

Related readings

More names beginning with こう

Related by the opening kana of the dictionary reading. This is a deterministic browsing relationship, not a claim that the names share the same meaning.

Given name · male · limited reference

Kōji

268 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōichirō

164 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōnosuke

148 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōjirō

145 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · mixed records · limited reference

Kōki

138 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōsaburō

128 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōtarō

117 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōsuke

104 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōichi

101 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · male · limited reference

Kōzō

97 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · mixed records · limited reference

Kōsei

78 recorded spellings

Explore →Given name · mixed records · limited reference

Kō

77 recorded spellings

Explore →
Continue research

Where to go next from Kōshirō

Use literal reading, character and corpus relationships to continue without treating nearby records as automatically related.

Exact reading

Search こうしろう

See source records matching this kana reading or beginning with it.

Continue →Reading family

Ko / こ

Browse other public given names with the same opening reading family.

Continue →Character reference

郎 — son, counter for sons

Open the kanji page for readings, classifications and literal name-use context.

Continue →Character reference

四 — four

Open the kanji page for readings, classifications and literal name-use context.

Continue →Interactive discovery

Open Name Explorer

Use the same name type and 5-mora reading length as a starting point.

Continue →
Evidence on this page

What each source establishes

JMnedict establishes recorded written forms, readings and name classifications; where safely associated, this page can also show JMnedict-supplied trans_det source text without treating it as a whole-name meaning. KANJIDIC2 supplies character readings, nanori, stroke counts, grade classes and English character glosses. The Ministry of Justice remains the official reference for Japanese child-name character rules. The Agency for Cultural Affairs romanization guidance is the reference for generated Latin-script reading aids.

JMnedictChecked 17 Sep 2026Active data built 16 Sep 2026Stored status: downloaded
KANJIDIC2Checked 17 Sep 2026Active data built 17 Sep 2026
Japan Ministry of Justice — characters usable in children’s namesChecked 17 Sep 2026
Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs — Romanization Rules (2025)Checked 17 Sep 2026
Source boundary

The spelling-frequency and structural counts on this page are calculated from imported JMnedict records. They are corpus counts, not population-frequency claims. KANJIDIC2 supplies the kanji metadata used in character and stroke comparisons.

Review sources →