filial piety

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 孝 means filial devotion; its on-reading is こう.
• Basic usage: 孝行(こうこう) means care for parents or family elders, while 不孝(ふこう) means unfilial behavior.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Filial care and a failure to show it
  • 孝行 applies to taking one's grandmother on a trip as well as to doing things for one's parents.
  • 長く連絡しなかった不孝 means the unfilial act of not contacting someone for a long time. Initial 不 in 不孝 expresses the absence of filial care.