King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “decorate”

Romaji: kazaru
to decorate; to ornament; to adorn

In Japanese, decorate is , read (kazaru).

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. v5r, vt to decorate; to ornament; to adorn
  2. v5r, vt to display; to exhibit; to put on show; to arrange
  3. v5r, vt to mark (e.g. the day with a victory); to adorn (e.g. the front page); to grace (e.g. the cover)
  4. v5r, vt to affect (a manner); to keep up (appearances); to embellish; to dress up; to be showy; to be pretentious

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

decorate, ornament, adorn
on: ショク
kun: かざ.る、かざ.り
13 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “decorate”

WordReadingMeaning
よそおう yosoouto dress (oneself in); to attire oneself in; to adorn
いろどる irodoruto decorate; to garnish; to adorn
かざりつける kazaritsukeruto decorate; to display
はなをそえる hanaosoeruto decorate; to add a touch of colour; to grace
デコる dekoruto decorate; to prettify; to attach a decorative sticker, cover, bauble, etc. to a cell phone, notebook, slippers, etc.

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
かざり kazaridecoration; ornament; trimmings
そうしょく soushokuornament; decoration
ふくしょく fukushokuclothing and accessories; attire
ふんしょく funshokuembellishment (e.g. of a story); ornamentation; decoration
かざりつけ kazaritsukedecoration; arrangement

See also: Chinese symbol for “decorate”.

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.