King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “contain”

Romaji: fukumu
to contain; to comprise; to have; to hold

In Japanese, contain is , read (fukumu).

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

  1. v5m, vt to contain; to comprise; to have; to hold; to include; to embrace
  2. v5m, vt to hold in the mouth
  3. v5m, vt to bear in mind; to understand; to harbor (grudge, etc.); to harbour
  4. v5m, vt to express (emotion, etc.); to imply

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

contain, include, hold in the mouth
on: ガン
kun: ふく.む、ふく.める
7 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “contain”

WordReadingMeaning
おさえる osaeruto hold back (e.g. an enemy); to check; to curb
やどす yadosuto house; to contain; to harbour (a feeling)
おさえる osaeruto quell; to subdue; to suppress
おさめる osameruto include (in an anthology, catalogue, etc.); to contain; to publish (in)
のみこむ nomikomuto be filled with (people); to contain

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ふくみ fukumiimplication; hidden meaning; latitude
がんゆう gan'yuucontaining (an ingredient, mineral, etc.)
ほうがん houganinclusion; comprehension; implication
がんちく ganchikuimplication; significance; connotation
ふくめる fukumeruto include (in a group or scope)

See also: Chinese symbol for “contain”.

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.

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