Japanese symbol for “episodic”

挿話的

そうわてき

Romaji: souwateki

episodic

In Japanese, episodic is 挿話的, read そうわてき (souwateki).

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-na episodic

Kanji and stroke order

挿

insert, put in, graft

on: ソウ
kun: さ.す、はさ.む

10 strokes · JLPT 1

話

tale, talk

on: ワ
kun: はな.す、はなし

13 strokes · JLPT 4

的

bull's eye, mark, target

on: テキ
kun: まと

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
挿入	そうにゅう sounyuu	insertion; interposition; interpolation
挿絵	さしえ sashie	illustration (in a book, newspaper, etc.); picture
挿話	そうわ souwa	episode; side story; story within a story
挿す	さす sasu	to insert; to put in
挿管	そうかん soukan	intubation; cannulation
挿し木	さしき sashiki	cutting; planting (a cutting)
電話	でんわ denwa	telephone call; phone call
話題	わだい wadai	topic; subject
目的	もくてき mokuteki	purpose; goal; aim

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.