Japanese symbol for “birch”
樺
かば
Romaji: kaba
birch (esp. Japanese white birch)
In Japanese, birch is 樺, read かば (kaba).
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 birch (esp. Japanese white birch)
Written forms: 樺、桜皮. Readings: かば、かんば、かにわ、カバ.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 白樺 | しらかば shirakaba | Japanese white birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica) |
| 樺太 | からふと karafuto | Karafuto (Japanese name for Sakhalin) |
| 樺の木 | かばのき kabanoki | birch tree (esp. the Japanese white birch, Betula platyphylla var. japonica) |
| 樺色 | かばいろ kabairo | reddish yellow |
| 樺太鱒 | からふとます karafutomasu | pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha); humpback salmon |
| 鵜松明樺 | うだいかんば udaikanba | monarch birch (Betula maximowicziana); Japanese birch |
See also: Chinese symbol for “birch”.
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.