Japanese symbol for “animals”

動物達

どうぶつたち

Romaji: doubutsutachi

animals

In Japanese, animals is 動物達, read どうぶつたち (doubutsutachi).

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 animals

Kanji and stroke order

動

move, motion, change

on: ドウ
kun: うご.く、うご.かす

11 strokes · JLPT 3

物

thing, object, matter

on: ブツ、モツ
kun: もの、もの-

8 strokes · JLPT 3

達

accomplished, reach, arrive

on: タツ、ダ
kun: -たち

12 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
活動	かつどう katsudou	activity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; operation
行動	こうどう koudou	action; conduct; behaviour
運動	うんどう undou	exercise; physical training; workout
動物	どうぶつ doubutsu	animal
移動	いどう idou	movement; transfer; migration
自動	じどう jidou	automatic
人物	じんぶつ jinbutsu	person; character; figure
物語	ものがたり monogatari	story; tale; narrative
友達	ともだち tomodachi	friend; companion

See also: Chinese symbol for “animals”.

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.