King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “expectations”

Romaji: ate
aim; object; purpose; end

In Japanese, expectations is , read (ate).

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. n aim; object; purpose; end
  2. n expectations; prospects; hopes
  3. n something that can be relied upon
  4. n snack served with alcoholic drink
  5. n-suf pad; guard
  6. n-pref, n-suf blow; strike

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

hit, right, appropriate
on: トウ
kun: あ.たる、あ.たり、あ.てる、あ.て
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “expectations”

WordReadingMeaning
あべし abeshi(having) expectations; (having) an ideal
あてごと ategotohopes; expectations
きたいち kitaichiexpectations

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ほんとう hontoutruth; reality; actuality
とうじ toujiat that time; in those days
たんとう tantoubeing in charge (of an area of responsibility); being responsible (for a work role, etc.)
とうぜん touzennatural; right; proper
そうとう soutoucorresponding to (in meaning, function, etc.); being equivalent to
とうせん tousenbeing elected

See also: Chinese symbol for “expectations”.

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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