King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “expand”

Romaji: fukuramu
to expand; to swell (out); to get big; to become inflated

In Japanese, expand is , read (fukuramu).

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. v5m, vi to expand; to swell (out); to get big; to become inflated

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

swell, get fat, thick
on: ボウ
kun: ふく.らむ、ふく.れる
16 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “expand”

WordReadingMeaning
ひろげる hirogeruto spread; to extend; to expand
ふくれる fukureruto swell (out); to expand; to be inflated
ふくらます fukuramasuto swell; to expand; to inflate
のびる nobiruto make progress; to develop; to expand
のばす nobasuto strengthen; to develop; to expand

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ぼうだい boudaihuge; vast; enormous
ぼうちょう bouchouexpansion; swelling; increase
ふくれる fukureruto swell (out); to expand; to be inflated
ふくらみ fukuramiswelling; bulge; puff
ふくらます fukuramasuto swell; to expand; to inflate

See also: Chinese symbol for “expand”.

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.

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