Japanese symbol for “caressing”
愛撫
あいぶ
Romaji: aibu
caressing; fondling; (sexual) petting
In Japanese, caressing is 愛撫, read あいぶ (aibu).
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, vs, vt caressing; fondling; (sexual) petting
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “caressing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 撫で撫で | なでなで nadenade | patting; stroking; caressing |
| よしよし | よしよし yoshiyoshi | patting (e.g. a child on the head); stroking; caressing |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 恋愛 | れんあい ren'ai | love; romance; tender passion |
| 愛情 | あいじょう aijou | love; affection |
| 可愛い | かわいい kawaii | cute; adorable; charming |
| 愛する | あいする aisuru | to love |
| 愛用 | あいよう aiyou | favorite; favourite; habitually used |
| 愛しい | いとしい itoshii | lovely; dear; beloved |
| 撫でる | なでる naderu | to stroke; to caress; to brush gently |
| 撫子 | なでしこ nadeshiko | pink (any flower of genus Dianthus, esp. the fringed pink, Dianthus superbus) |
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.