beg

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The verb 乞う, read こう, means to ask for something needed or seek someone's understanding.
• Basic usage: 理解を乞う means to ask for understanding, so the verb is not restricted to requests for physical objects.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• What is requested and from whom
  • In 主人に宿を乞う, に marks the owner being asked, and を marks the lodging requested.
  • The expression has a more formal or literary feel than an ordinary everyday request.
• Compound readings and meanings
  • 雨乞い, read あまごい, means praying for rain or a rainmaking ritual; 物乞い, read ものごい, means begging or a person who begs.
  • The shared character 乞 does not make the requests or the things referred to identical.