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

Koi

恋

Given-name classification varies across source records.

こいコイKoi
Compare spellings
Reference coverage

Standard source depth

This reading group has enough source-recorded spelling and record depth for the main reference library. The counts describe corpus coverage, not real-world popularity.

Distinct recorded spellings5

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows5

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelStandard

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Koi

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こい

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formコイ

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationKoi

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

Mora segmentationこ · い

2 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.

Meaning by written form

What can Koi mean?

A Japanese name can be written in more than one way, and its meaning can change with the kanji used. Rather than assigning one English meaning to “Koi”, this page explains each recorded spelling separately.

Kanji spellings5

character meanings available

Kana-only spellings0

no kanji meaning attached

InterpretationBy spelling

based on the exact written form

Kanji spelling

恋

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Characters and loaded glosses
Kanji spelling

恋衣

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Kanji spelling

湖李

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Characters and loaded glosses
Kanji spelling

湖衣

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Characters and loaded glosses
Kanji spelling

胡夷

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

How to read these meanings

The English words shown here are dictionary meanings of individual kanji. They help explain what a spelling can suggest, but they are not a guaranteed translation of the full name and do not establish why a particular person was given that name.

Reading profile

How Koi 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

こい

Kanji-based spellings5

among the forms analyzed on this page

Kana characters2

in the primary dictionary reading

Morae2

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

1-kanji forms1

recorded spelling

2-kanji forms4

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 asGiven name + surname

こい in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms6

6 source spelling/reading rows

Surname written forms18

18 source spelling/reading rows

Given-name labelsfemale 4 · unspecified 2

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
こいKoi66 source rowsfemale 4 · unspecified 2source rows · distinct forms: female 4 · unspecified 21818 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 Koi

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 data5

10–19 strokes observed span

Median total strokes16

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms5

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
こいKoi25
Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

1 of 5 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 checked5

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings1

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading4

within this active given-name corpus

Largest reading set5

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

A reading shown without a link is still source-recorded, but its destination group does not yet meet the reference-depth standard used for the main library. Limited records are not promoted merely to create extra internal links.

Kanji role reference

How recurring characters function across Koi 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
恋romance, in love, yearn for2100110—Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
衣garment, clothes, dressing202006—Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
湖lake2200012うみ, みJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
李plum101007もも, いJinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9
胡barbarian, foreign110009えびす, くるJinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9
夷barbarian, savage, Ainu101006しJinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9

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.

Corpus pattern

Kanji recurring across Koi 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.

Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Koi

5 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading こい. 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 Koi 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
恋こい恋 — romance, in love10All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
恋衣こい恋 — romance, in love · 衣 — garment, clothes16All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
湖李こい湖 — lake · 李 — plum19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
湖衣こい湖 — lake · 衣 — garment, clothes18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
胡夷こい胡 — barbarian, foreign · 夷 — barbarian, savage15All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified

What does Koi 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 こい

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.

Shared-kanji relationships

Other names sharing kanji with Koi

These links are calculated from exact characters appearing in source-recorded spellings on this page. Sharing a kanji does not mean two names have the same reading, origin, gender or intended meaning.

Continue research

Where to go next from Koi

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

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.

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 →