King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “falter”

Romaji: tadayou
to drift; to float

In Japanese, falter is , read (tadayou).

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. v5u, vi to drift; to float
  2. v5u, vi to waft (e.g. a scent); to hang in the air
  3. v5u, vi to be in the air (e.g. a feeling or mood)
  4. v5u, vi to wander; to walk around aimlessly
  5. v5u, vi to be unsteady; to be unstable
  6. v5u, vi to falter; to flinch; to wince

Kanji and stroke order

drift, float (on liquid)
on: ヒョウ
kun: ただよ.う
14 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “falter”

WordReadingMeaning
ひるむ hirumuto falter; to flinch (from); to recoil (from)
しぶる shiburuto falter; to slacken; to slow down
くちごもる kuchigomoruto hesitate to say; to mumble; to hem and haw
にぶる niburuto become less capable; to weaken; to falter
よどむ yodomuto be delayed; to hesitate; to falter

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひょうりゅう hyouryuudrifting; drift; being adrift
ひょうはく hyouhakublanching; bleaching
ひょうちゃく hyouchakudrifting ashore
ひょうはく hyouhakuroaming; drifting about; wandering
ひょうはくざい hyouhakuzaibleaching agent; bleach

See also: Chinese symbol for “falter”.

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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