Japanese symbol for “azimuth”

方位角

ほういかく

Romaji: houikaku

azimuth

In Japanese, azimuth is 方位角, read ほういかく (houikaku).

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 azimuth

Kanji and stroke order

方

direction, person, alternative

on: ホウ
kun: かた、-かた、-がた

4 strokes · JLPT 3

位

rank, grade, throne

on: イ
kun: くらい、ぐらい

7 strokes · JLPT 2

角

angle, corner, square

on: カク
kun: かど、つの

7 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
方法	ほうほう houhou	method; way; manner
一方	いっぽう ippou	one (esp. of two); the other; one way
地方	ちほう chihou	district; region; area
方向	ほうこう houkou	direction; orientation; bearing
仕方	しかた shikata	way; method; means
方針	ほうしん houshin	policy; course; plan (of action)
位置	いち ichi	place; position; location
単位	たんい tan'i	unit (e.g. meters, grams, etc.); denomination
角度	かくど kakudo	angle

See also: Chinese symbol for “azimuth”.

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.