Japanese symbol for “deep”
深い
ふかい
Romaji: fukai
deep (hole, forest, snow, etc.)
In Japanese, deep is 深い, read ふかい (fukai).
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 deep (hole, forest, snow, etc.)
- adj-i dense (e.g. fog); thick (e.g. weeds, woods); heavy
- adj-i close (e.g. relationship); deep (involvement); intimate; thick
- adj-i intense (e.g. longing, flavor); severe; strong (feelings); serious (e.g. blow); deep-seated (e.g. hatred)
- adj-i profound (e.g. meaning); deep (e.g. thought); heavy (e.g. silence)
- adj-i sound (sleep); deep (slumber)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “deep”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 濃い | こい koi | deep (colour); dark |
| 低い | ひくい hikui | deep (voice); in a low key; low (volume) |
| 厚い | あつい atsui | thick; deep; heavy |
| 太い | ふとい futoi | deep (of a voice); thick; sonorous |
| 重厚 | じゅうこう juukou | profound; deep; grave |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 深刻 | しんこく shinkoku | serious; severe; grave |
| 深夜 | しんや shin'ya | late at night |
| 深める | ふかめる fukameru | to deepen; to heighten; to intensify |
| 興味深い | きょうみぶかい kyoumibukai | very interesting; of great interest |
| 深み | ふかみ fukami | deep place; depths |
See also: Chinese symbol for “deep”.
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.