King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “breadth”

Romaji: haba
width; breadth

In Japanese, breadth is , read (haba).

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

  1. n width; breadth
  2. n freedom (e.g. of thought); latitude
  3. n gap; difference (e.g. in price); range (e.g. of voice)

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

hanging scroll, width
on: フク
kun: はば
12 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “breadth”

WordReadingMeaning
よこ yokoside-to-side (as opposed to front-to-back); width; breadth
まぐち maguchibreadth (e.g. of one's knowledge); scope (e.g. of one's work); range
よこはば yokohababreadth; width
ひろさ hirosawidth; breadth

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
おおはば oohababig; large; drastic
はばひろい habahiroiextensive; wide; broad
しんぷく shinpukuamplitude (of vibration)
ぞうふく zoufukuamplification
ぜんぷく zenpukufull; wholehearted; utmost
こはば kohabasmall; narrow

See also: Chinese symbol for “breadth”.

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.