Japanese symbol for “bellows”
蛇腹
じゃばら
Romaji: jabara
bellows (of an accordion, camera, etc.)
In Japanese, bellows is 蛇腹, read じゃばら (jabara).
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 bellows (of an accordion, camera, etc.)
- n cornice (archit)
- n rickrack; ricrac; wave-shaped braid
- n pleated shape; accordion pleats; pleated flexible design
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “bellows”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ベローズ | ベローズ beroozu | bellows |
| 鞴 | ふいご fuigo | (pair of) bellows |
| 吹き | ふき fuki | (pair of) bellows |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蛇口 | じゃぐち jaguchi | faucet; tap |
| 蛇行 | だこう dakou | meandering; snaking; zigzagging |
| 大蛇 | だいじゃ daija | big snake; (large) serpent |
| 蛇の目 | じゃのめ janome | bull's-eye (pattern); double ring (pattern) |
| 蛇足 | だそく dasoku | redundancy; superfluity; useless addition |
| 空腹 | くうふく kuufuku | empty stomach; hunger |
| 満腹 | まんぷく manpuku | full stomach; filling one's stomach; eating one's fill |
| 切腹 | せっぷく seppuku | seppuku; harakiri; ritual suicide by disembowelment |
See also: Chinese symbol for “bellows”.
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.