King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “arrive”

Romaji: kuru
to come (spatially or temporally); to approach; to arrive

In Japanese, arrive is , read (kuru).

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. vi, vk to come (spatially or temporally); to approach; to arrive
  2. aux-v, vi, vk to come back; to do ... and come back
  3. aux-v, vi, vk to come to be; to become; to get; to grow; to continue
  4. vi, vk to come from; to be caused by; to derive from
  5. vi, vk to come to (e.g. "when it comes to spinach ...")

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

come, due, next
on: ライ、タイ
kun: く.る、きた.る、きた.す、き.たす
7 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “arrive”

WordReadingMeaning
はいる hairuto enter; to come in; to go in
おとずれる otozureruto arrive (of a season, situation, etc.); to come; to appear
いきつく ikitsukuto arrive (at one's destination); to reach
のりつける noritsukeruto arrive (by car, bike, etc.); to drive up to; to draw up at
ふる furuto visit (of luck, misfortune, etc.); to come; to arrive

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
みらい mirai(distant) future
できる dekiruto be able to do; to be possible; to be permitted (to do)
いらい iraisince; henceforth
しょうらい shouraifuture; (future) prospects
ほんらい honraioriginally; primarily

See also: Chinese symbol for “arrive”.

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.