Japanese symbol for “brush”
毛筆
もうひつ
Romaji: mouhitsu
(writing, painting) brush
In Japanese, brush is 毛筆, read もうひつ (mouhitsu).
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 (writing, painting) brush
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “brush”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ブラシ | ブラシ burashi | brush |
| 衝突 | しょうとつ shoutotsu | clash; skirmish; conflict |
| 磨く | みがく migaku | to polish; to shine; to burnish |
| 小競り合い | こぜりあい kozeriai | skirmish; brush (with the enemy); minor battle |
| 刷毛 | はけ hake | brush (for painting, basting, etc.) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 髪の毛 | かみのけ kaminoke | hair (on the head); (a) hair |
| 毛布 | もうふ moufu | blanket |
| 毛皮 | けがわ kegawa | fur; skin; pelt |
| 脱毛 | だつもう datsumou | hair loss |
| 不毛 | ふもう fumou | barren; sterile; infertile |
| 羊毛 | ようもう youmou | wool |
| 執筆 | しっぴつ shippitsu | writing; authoring |
| 鉛筆 | えんぴつ enpitsu | (wooden) pencil |
See also: Chinese symbol for “brush”.
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.