Japanese symbol for “caveman”

穴居人

けっきょじん

Romaji: kekkyojin

cave dweller; caveman

In Japanese, caveman is 穴居人, read けっきょじん (kekkyojin).

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 cave dweller; caveman

Kanji and stroke order

穴

hole, aperture, slit

on: ケツ
kun: あな

5 strokes · JLPT 1

居

reside, to be, exist

on: キョ、コ
kun: い.る、-い、お.る

8 strokes · JLPT 2

人

person

on: ジン、ニン
kun: ひと、-り、-と

2 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
墓穴	ぼけつ boketsu	grave (pit)
穴埋め	あなうめ anaume	filling (up) a hole
落とし穴	おとしあな otoshiana	pitfall; trap; pit
毛穴	けあな keana	pore (of the skin)
洞穴	ほらあな horaana	cave; cavern; den
風穴	かざあな kazaana	air hole; windhole; air vent
居る	おる oru	to be (animate); to be; to exist
芝居	しばい shibai	play; drama
人間	にんげん ningen	human being; human; person

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.