Japanese symbol for “faintly”
仄
ほの
Romaji: hono
faintly; dimly; slightly; barely
In Japanese, faintly is 仄, read ほの (hono).
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
- pref faintly; dimly; slightly; barely
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “faintly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 淡々 | あわあわ awaawa | lightly; faintly; delicately |
| ほんのり | ほんのり honnori | slightly; faintly |
| 呆んやり | ぼんやり bon'yari | dimly; faintly; indistinctly |
| 薄ぼんやり | うすぼんやり usubon'yari | faintly; weakly; dimly |
| ぼーっと | ぼーっと bootto | dimly; hazily; faintly |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 仄か | ほのか honoka | faint; indistinct; dim |
| 仄めかす | ほのめかす honomekasu | to hint at; to intimate; to suggest |
| 仄めかし | ほのめかし honomekashi | hint; intimation; suggestion |
| 平仄 | ひょうそく hyousoku | meter (in Chinese poetry); consistency |
| 仄聞 | そくぶん sokubun | hearing casually; hearing by chance; learning by hearsay |
| 仄々 | ほのぼの honobono | dimly; faintly; with a faint light |
See also: Chinese symbol for “faintly”.
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.