Japanese symbol for “conch”
ほら貝
ほらがい
Romaji: horagai
conch (esp. Charonia tritonis); trumpet shell
In Japanese, conch is ほら貝, read ほらがい (horagai).
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 conch (esp. Charonia tritonis); trumpet shell
Written forms: ほら貝、法螺貝、ホラ貝、吹螺. Readings: ほらがい、ホラがい、ホラガイ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “conch”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 法螺 | ほら hora | conch (esp. Charonia tritonis); trumpet shell |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 貝殻 | かいがら kaigara | seashell; shell |
| 貝塚 | かいづか kaizuka | shell heap; shell mound; kitchen midden |
| 貝類 | かいるい kairui | shellfish |
| 巻き貝 | まきがい makigai | snail; spiral shell |
| 貝柱 | かいばしら kaibashira | adductor muscle |
| ムール貝 | ムールがい muurugai | (edible) mussel (esp. the Mediterranean mussel or blue mussel) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “conch”.
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.