King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “brethren”

Romaji: douhou
brethren; brothers; fellow countrymen; fellowman

In Japanese, brethren is , read (douhou).

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 brethren; brothers; fellow countrymen; fellowman; compatriot

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

same, agree, equal
on: ドウ
kun: おな.じ
6 strokes · JLPT 3
placenta, sac, sheath
on: ホウ
9 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
どうよう douyousame; similar; (just) like
どうし doushifellow; mutual; companion
きょうどう kyoudoucooperation; collaboration; association
おなじ onajisame; identical; equal
どうじ doujisame time
どうい douiagreement; consent; approval
さいぼう saiboucell
ほうし houshispore

See also: Chinese symbol for “brethren”.

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.