Japanese symbol for “cursory”

通り一遍

とおりいっぺん

Romaji: tooriippen

perfunctory; cursory; passing; conventional

In Japanese, cursory is 通り一遍, read とおりいっぺん (tooriippen).

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

adj-na, adj-no, n perfunctory; cursory; passing; conventional; formal (greetings, compliments, etc.); casual (acquaintance, remark, etc.)
adj-na, adj-no, n chance (e.g. customer); transient; stray

Written forms: 通り一遍、通りいっぺん、通り一ぺん. Readings: とおりいっぺん.

Kanji and stroke order

通

traffic, pass through, avenue

on: ツウ、ツ
kun: とお.る、とお.り、-とお.り、-どお.り

10 strokes · JLPT 3

一

one, one radical (no.1)

on: イチ、イツ
kun: ひと-、ひと.つ

1 strokes · JLPT 4

遍

everywhere, times, widely

on: ヘン
kun: あまね.く

12 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
普通	ふつう futsuu	normal; ordinary; regular
通り	どおり doori	in accordance with; following
通常	つうじょう tsuujou	usual; ordinary; normal
通信	つうしん tsuushin	correspondence; communication; transmission
交通	こうつう koutsuu	traffic; transportation
共通	きょうつう kyoutsuu	common; shared; mutual
一緒	いっしょ issho	(doing) together
一番	いちばん ichiban	number one; first; first place
普遍	ふへん fuhen	universal; general; ubiquitous

See also: Chinese symbol for “cursory”.

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.