音読み: シュク・シュウ
訓読み: いわう
画数: 9
部首: 礻（しめすへん）
Meaning
Celebrate / Congratulate / Blessing
- Basic forms
- 祝う — to celebrate; to congratulate / base
- 祝います — celebrate / masu
- 祝った — celebrated / ta
- 祝って — celebrate and … / te
- 祝わない — do not celebrate / negative
- 祝えば — if (you) celebrate / conditional
- 祝え — celebrate! / imperative
- Common uses
- 誕生日を祝う — celebrate a birthday
- 合格を祝う — celebrate passing an exam
- More
- 祝いたい — want to celebrate / 〜たい
- 祝おう — let’s celebrate / 〜よう
祝う（いわう） is a godan verb ending in う. Used for celebrating events, achievements, and happy occasions.
- 祝日 — national holiday
- 祝儀 — celebratory gift (esp. wedding money)
- 祝福 — blessing
- 祝賀会 — celebration party
- 祝い — celebration; congratulatory gift
- 祝辞 — congratulatory address
- 祝祭 — festival; celebration
The left radical 礻 (しめすへん) evokes a ritual altar; the right side relates to declaration. Together they suggest offering thanks or prayers, which broadened to general celebration.
友だちの結婚を祝いました。
I celebrated my friend’s wedding.
来週は 祝日です。
Next week is a national holiday.
祝日 — national holiday