What 효 means
The whole Korean word decides which meaning it carries. Hangul is the Korean alphabet, written in syllable blocks; Hanja are Chinese characters historically used in Korean words. In 효도 (serving and respecting one's parents) and 효자 (a son who does so), 효 corresponds to 孝. In 효과 (effect or efficacy) and 유효 (valid), it corresponds to 效. The syllable's sound does not decide between them, so translate the whole word.
How old is the idea behind 효?
The Hangul spelling is much newer than the filial-duty idea. As of 2026-09-07, the earliest written record cited for that idea is the “five relationships” passage in the Shujing, an ancient Chinese classic known as the Book of Documents; it is not a record of this Hangul spelling. Hangul was devised in 1443 and explained in a book published in 1446. In Korea, the 孝 idea became linked with ancestor rites and Buddhist and Confucian teaching, then served as state moral instruction. Its history carries ethical weight as well as criticism of rigid, unequal family roles.
Only the 孝 vocabulary carries a formal ethical tone; 효 in words like 효과 is ordinary vocabulary.
Bare 효 alone does not tell you whether family duty is meant.
Part of the collection
Who writes 효
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What it means when someone sends it to you
4 readingsNo fixed translation; the surrounding Korean word is needed.
Related characters
2
Questions people ask
1Why does 효 show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
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How to type or find 효
- Also called
- hyo
- Search it as
- hyodo · hyoja · hyogwa · yuhyo · 효도 · 효자 · 효과 · 유효
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
효\D6A8Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.