King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “arc”

Romaji: ko
arc

In Japanese, arc is , read (ko).

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 arc

Kanji and stroke order

arc, arch, bow
on: コ
9 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “arc”

WordReadingMeaning
アーク aakuarc
ゆみなり yuminaribow shape; arc; arch
こせん kosenarc (of a circle)
こけい kokeiarc
ボーゲン boogenarc

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
えんこ enkocircular arc
かっこ kakkobrackets; parentheses
こじょう kojouarc shape; crescent shape
みぎしょうかっこ migishoukakkoclosing parenthesis
みぎちゅうかっこ migichuukakkoclosing brace
こをえがく kooegakuto draw an arc (e.g. with a compass); to describe an arc (e.g. through the air); to form an arc

See also: Chinese symbol for “arc”.

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.