Japanese symbol for “airing”

放映

ほうえい

Romaji: houei

televising; broadcasting; airing

In Japanese, airing is 放映, read ほうえい (houei).

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

n, vs, vt televising; broadcasting; airing

Kanji and stroke order

放

set free, release, fire

on: ホウ
kun: はな.す、-っぱな.し、はな.つ、はな.れる

8 strokes · JLPT 2

映

reflect, reflection, projection

on: エイ
kun: うつ.る、うつ.す、は.える、-ば.え

9 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “airing”

Word	Reading	Meaning
通風	つうふう tsuufuu	ventilation; draft; airing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
放送	ほうそう housou	broadcasting; broadcast; program
解放	かいほう kaihou	release; unleashing; liberation
開放	かいほう kaihou	opening (a door, window, etc.); leaving open
放題	ほうだい houdai	(doing) as one pleases; to one's heart's content; letting (something) go unchecked
放棄	ほうき houki	abandonment; renouncement; renunciation
追放	ついほう tsuihou	exile; banishment; eviction
映画	えいが eiga	movie; film; motion picture
映像	えいぞう eizou	image (on a screen); picture (e.g. on a TV)

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.