King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “ascent”

Romaji: nobori
ascent; climbing; ascending (path); climb

In Japanese, ascent is , read (nobori).

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 ascent; climbing; ascending (path); climb
  2. n up-train; train heading toward the starting point of its route
  3. adj-no, n upbound (esp. toward Tokyo)
  4. n, n-pref upstream; uphill

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

above, up
on: ジョウ、ショウ、シャン
kun: うえ、-うえ、うわ-、かみ
3 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “ascent”

WordReadingMeaning
あがり agaririse; increase; ascent
のぼりざか noborizakaascent; uphill; upward slope

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
いじょう ijounot less than ...; ... and over; ... and above
うりあげ uriageamount sold; sales; proceeds
じょうしょう joushourising; ascending; climbing
こうじょう koujouelevation; rise; improvement
じょうし joushi(one's) superior; (one's) boss; the higher-ups
ちじょう chijouabove ground; on the ground; earth's surface

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.

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