Japanese symbol for “ball”
玉
たま
Romaji: tama
ball; sphere; globe; orb
In Japanese, ball is 玉, read たま (tama).
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 ball; sphere; globe; orb
- n bead (of sweat, dew, etc.); drop; droplet
- n ball (in sports); pitch (e.g. in baseball)
- n pile (of noodles, etc.)
- n bullet
- n bulb (i.e. a light bulb)
Written forms: 玉、球、珠、弾. Readings: たま.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ball”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 球 | きゅう kyuu | sphere; globe; ball |
| ボール | ボール booru | ball |
| 鞠 | まり mari | ball (for sport, games, etc.) |
| 球体 | きゅうたい kyuutai | ball |
| 舞踏会 | ぶとうかい butoukai | ball; dance |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 目玉 | めだま medama | eyeball |
| お年玉 | おとしだま otoshidama | New Year's gift (usu. money given to a child by relatives and visitors) |
| 埼玉 | さいたま saitama | Saitama (city, prefecture) |
| 替え玉 | かえだま kaedama | stand-in; proxy; substitute |
| 水玉 | みずたま mizutama | drop of water |
| 玉砕 | ぎょくさい gyokusai | honorable death; death without surrender; honorable defeat |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ball”.
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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