Japanese symbol for “behave”
振舞う
ふるまう
Romaji: furumau
to behave; to conduct oneself; to act
In Japanese, behave is 振舞う, read ふるまう (furumau).
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
- v5u, vi to behave; to conduct oneself; to act
- v5u, vt to treat (someone) to (food or drink); to entertain (e.g. to lunch)
Written forms: 振舞う、振る舞う. Readings: ふるまう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “behave”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 出る | でる deru | to assume (an attitude); to act; to behave |
| 立ち振る舞う | たちふるまう tachifurumau | to act; to behave |
| 出ず | いず izu | to assume (an attitude); to act; to behave |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 振り | ふり furi | swing; shake; sweep |
| 振興 | しんこう shinkou | promotion; encouragement |
| 振動 | しんどう shindou | oscillation; vibration; swing (e.g. of a pendulum) |
| 振り返る | ふりかえる furikaeru | to turn one's head; to look over one's shoulder; to turn around |
| 不振 | ふしん fushin | dullness; slump; stagnation |
| 振込 | ふりこみ furikomi | payment made via bank deposit transfer |
| 舞台 | ぶたい butai | stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.) |
| 歌舞伎 | かぶき kabuki | kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly in white and red |
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.