Japanese symbol for “dancing”
踊り
おどり
Romaji: odori
dancing; dance
In Japanese, dancing is 踊り, read おどり (odori).
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 dancing; dance
- n iteration mark (used to represent repetition of the previous character)
- n Bon Festival dance; Lantern Festival dance
- n eating live seafood (e.g. squid, ice gobies) while it is still moving (food)
- n soft spot (in the skull of an infant); fontanelle; fontanel
- n live shrimp (as a sushi dish) (food)
Written forms: 踊り、躍り. Readings: おどり.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “dancing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 舞 | まい mai | dancing; dance |
| 舞踊 | ぶよう buyou | dancing; dance |
| 舞踏 | ぶとう butou | dance (esp. Western style); dancing |
| ダンス | ダンス dansu | dance; dancing |
| ダンシング | ダンシング danshingu | dancing |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 盆踊り | ぼんおどり bon'odori | Bon Festival dance; Lantern Festival dance |
| 舞踊 | ぶよう buyou | dancing; dance |
| 踊り場 | おどりば odoriba | place for dancing; dance floor |
| 踊る | おどる odoru | to dance (orig. a hopping dance) |
| 踊り子 | おどりこ odoriko | dancer (usu. female) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “dancing”.
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.