Japanese symbol for “cannonball”
砲弾
ほうだん
Romaji: houdan
shell; cannonball
In Japanese, cannonball is 砲弾, read ほうだん (houdan).
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 shell; cannonball
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cannonball”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 砲丸 | ほうがん hougan | cannonball |
| キャノンボール | キャノンボール kyanonbooru | cannonball |
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 |
| 爆弾 | ばくだん bakudan | bomb |
| 弾圧 | だんあつ dan'atsu | oppression; suppression; pressure |
| 弾薬 | だんやく dan'yaku | ammunition; ammo |
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.