Japanese symbol for “cute”
可愛い
かわいい
Romaji: kawaii
cute; adorable; charming; lovely
In Japanese, cute is 可愛い, read かわいい (kawaii).
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-i cute; adorable; charming; lovely; pretty
- adj-i dear; precious; darling; pet
- adj-i innocent; childlike; childish; lovable
- adj-i dainty; little; tiny
- adj-i precious to oneself; dear (to one)
Written forms: 可愛い. Readings: かわいい、カワイイ、カワイい、かわいーい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cute”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 可愛 | かわい kawai | cute; adorable; charming |
| キュート | キュート kyuuto | cute |
| 可憐 | かれん karen | sweet (e.g. young girls, flowers blooming); touchingly lovely; cute |
| 可愛らしい | かわいらしい kawairashii | lovely; sweet; pretty |
| 姫 | ひめ hime | small; cute; lesser (in names of species) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 可能 | かのう kanou | possible; potential; practicable |
| 許可 | きょか kyoka | permission; approval; authorization |
| 不可能 | ふかのう fukanou | impossible |
| 可哀想 | かわいそう kawaisou | poor; pitiable; pathetic |
| 認可 | にんか ninka | approval; license; licence |
| 恋愛 | れんあい ren'ai | love; romance; tender passion |
| 愛情 | あいじょう aijou | love; affection |
| 愛する | あいする aisuru | to love |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cute”.
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.