King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “activation”

Romaji: kidou
startup; booting up; activation; starting (e.g. engine, computer)

In Japanese, activation is , read (kidou).

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.

Meanings

  1. n, vi, vs startup; booting up; activation; starting (e.g. engine, computer); launch

Kanji and stroke order

rouse, wake up, get up
on: キ
kun: お.きる、お.こる、お.こす、おこ.す
10 strokes · JLPT 3
move, motion, change
on: ドウ
kun: うご.く、うご.かす
11 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “activation”

WordReadingMeaning
ふかつ fukatsuactivation; invigoration; stimulation
アクティベート akutibeetoactivation (of software, a device, etc.)
アクティベーション akutibeeshonactivation
アクティブか akutibukaactivation
ゆうこうか yuukoukaenabling; activation; validation

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
きそ kisoprosecution; indictment
おこる okoruto occur; to happen
おこす okosuto raise; to raise up; to set up
おきる okiruto get up; to rise; to blaze up (fire)
きげん kigenorigin; beginning; source
ていき teikiraising (a question); posing (a problem); bringing up (an issue)
かつどう katsudouactivity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; operation
こうどう koudouaction; conduct; behaviour

See also: Chinese symbol for “activation”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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