Japanese symbol for “compassion”
同情
どうじょう
Romaji: doujou
sympathy; compassion; pity
In Japanese, compassion is 同情, read どうじょう (doujou).
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, vi, vs sympathy; compassion; pity
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “compassion”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 思いやり | おもいやり omoiyari | consideration; thoughtfulness; sympathy |
| 仁 | じん jin | benevolence (esp. as a virtue of Confucianism); consideration; compassion |
| 哀れ | あわれ aware | pity; sorrow; grief |
| 慈悲 | じひ jihi | mercy; compassion; clemency |
| 情 | じょう jou | compassion; sympathy |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 同様 | どうよう douyou | same; similar; (just) like |
| 同士 | どうし doushi | fellow; mutual; companion |
| 共同 | きょうどう kyoudou | cooperation; collaboration; association |
| 同じ | おなじ onaji | same; identical; equal |
| 同時 | どうじ douji | same time |
| 同意 | どうい doui | agreement; consent; approval |
| 情報 | じょうほう jouhou | information; news; report |
| 感情 | かんじょう kanjou | emotion; feeling; feelings |
See also: Chinese symbol for “compassion”.
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.