Chinese symbol for “maelstrom”
漩涡
xuán wō
Traditional: 漩渦
whirlpool; eddy; vortex; (fig.) maelstrom
The closest CC-CEDICT match for maelstrom is 漩涡 (xuán wō), defined as: whirlpool; eddy; vortex; (fig.) maelstrom.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Related words
Other words that share a character with 漩涡.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 泡漩 | pào xuán | eddy; whirlpool |
| 涡轮 (渦輪) | wō lún | turbine |
| 旋涡 (旋渦) | xuán wō | spiral; whirlpool |
| 涡流 (渦流) | wō liú | (electronics) eddy current |
| 涡旋 (渦旋) | wō xuán | eddy; vortex |
| 涡扇 (渦扇) | wō shàn | turbofan |
See also: Japanese symbol for “maelstrom”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.