King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “aid”

Romaji: ouen
aid; assistance; help; support

In Japanese, aid is , read (ouen).

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, vs, vt aid; assistance; help; support; reinforcement
  2. n, vs, vt cheering; rooting (for); support

Kanji and stroke order

apply, answer, yes
on: オウ、ヨウ、-ノウ
kun: あた.る、まさに、こた.える
7 strokes · JLPT 2
abet, help, save
on: エン
12 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “aid”

WordReadingMeaning
ほさ hosaaid; help; assistance
しえん shiensupport; backing; aid
ほじょ hojoassistance; support; help
えんじょ enjoassistance; aid; support
せわ sewacare; looking after; help

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
たいおう taioucorrespondence (to); equivalence
はんのう hannoureaction; response
おうぼ ouboapplication; subscription; entry (competition, raffle, etc.)
いちおう ichioumore or less; though not quite satisfactorily; after a fashion
おうよう ouyou(practical) application; putting to practical use
しえん shiensupport; backing; aid
えんじょ enjoassistance; aid; support
きゅうえん kyuuenrelief; rescue

See also: Chinese symbol for “aid”.

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.