Japanese symbol for “cannon”
砲
ほう
Romaji: hou
gun; cannon; artillery; ordnance
In Japanese, cannon is 砲, read ほう (hou).
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, n-suf gun; cannon; artillery; ordnance
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cannon”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大砲 | たいほう taihou | (large) gun; cannon; artillery |
| キャノン | キャノン kyanon | cannon |
| 筒 | つつ tsutsu | gun; cannon |
| 火砲 | かほう kahou | (large) gun; artillery; cannon |
| 大筒 | おおづつ oozutsu | cannon |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大砲 | たいほう taihou | (large) gun; cannon; artillery |
| 鉄砲 | てっぽう teppou | gun; firearm |
| 発砲 | はっぽう happou | firing; discharge of gun |
| 砲撃 | ほうげき hougeki | bombarding; shelling; bombardment |
| 主砲 | しゅほう shuhou | main battery; main armament |
| 砲弾 | ほうだん houdan | shell; cannonball |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cannon”.
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.