kindness

(origin) + (bottomheart)
★★☆☆☆
10 strokes

Onyomi

ON

Mnemonic

The origin of kindness is ON the heart.

Kunyomi

おん gratitude. Unlike the related words 恩恵 (おんけい) and 義理 (ぎり), 恩 means that you really WANT to do something nice, to give back to the person you're grateful to. Also, unlike 義理、恩 doesn't imply that you owe them a specific favor. Often, 恩 is used like, "Everyone else gave up on me, told me I was a juvenile delinquent, that I'd amount to nothing. That teacher was the only one who believed in me, who kept encouraging me no matter how many times I fucked up. とても恩がある。"
★★☆☆☆

Jukugo

恩恵(おんけい)

favor ★☆☆☆☆
(kindness) + (do a favor) = 恩恵 (favor)

Favor. Unlike the very personal "恩", giving and receiving 恩恵 is a more businesslike form of gratitude: 恩恵を受ける means "to receive a favor." A sort of I'll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine practicality.

恩知らず(おんしらず)

ingrate ☆☆☆☆☆
(kindness) + (know) = 恩知らず (ingrate)

ingrate (literally, 'unaware of gratitude.')

Lookalikes

Meaning Hint Radical
do a favor TNT plunger
kindness ORIGINATES
intention, volition SAMURAI

You do a favor to Wile E. Coyote by giving him a TNT PLUNGER,
But kindness ORIGINATES in the heart.
She has the intention of becoming a SAMURAI.

Meaning Hint Radical
kindness BIG
do a favor TEN

Do me a BIG favor, and bless me with TEN sabres.

Synonyms

gratitude, obligation
感謝    恩    恩恵    義理    義務