Japanese symbol for “cove”

入り江

いりえ

Romaji: irie

inlet; cove; creek; bay

In Japanese, cove is 入り江, read いりえ (irie).

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 inlet; cove; creek; bay

Written forms: 入り江、入江. Readings: いりえ.

Kanji and stroke order

入

enter, insert

on: ニュウ、ジュ
kun: い.る、-い.る、-い.り、い.れる

2 strokes · JLPT 4

江

creek, inlet, bay

on: コウ
kun: え

6 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
購入	こうにゅう kounyuu	purchase; buying
導入	どうにゅう dounyuu	introduction; bringing in; installation
収入	しゅうにゅう shuunyuu	income; earnings; revenue
輸入	ゆにゅう yunyuu	import; importation; introduction
入学	にゅうがく nyuugaku	admission (to a school or university); entrance; enrolment
入院	にゅういん nyuuin	hospitalization; hospitalisation
江戸	えど edo	Edo (shogunate capital; former name of Tokyo); Yedo
堀江	ほりえ horie	canal

See also: Chinese symbol for “cove”.

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.