Japanese symbol for “embankment”
土手
どて
Romaji: dote
embankment; bank
In Japanese, embankment is 土手, read どて (dote).
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 embankment; bank
- n beef sinew stewed in miso and mirin
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “embankment”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 堤防 | ていぼう teibou | bank; weir; embankment |
| 堤 | つつみ tsutsumi | bank; embankment; dike |
| 盛り土 | もりど morido | embankment (for road, railway, etc.); raising the ground level; fill |
| 築堤 | ちくてい chikutei | embankment; bank |
| バンク | バンク banku | bank (of a river, etc.); embankment |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 土地 | とち tochi | plot of land; lot; soil |
| 土曜 | どよう doyou | Saturday |
| 領土 | りょうど ryoudo | territory; domain; dominion |
| 国土 | こくど kokudo | country; territory; domain |
| 土産 | みやげ miyage | local specialty or souvenir bought as a gift while travelling |
| 土台 | どだい dodai | foundation; base; basis |
| 相手 | あいて aite | companion; partner; company |
| 選手 | せんしゅ senshu | player (of a sport); athlete; team member |
See also: Chinese symbol for “embankment”.
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.