Japanese symbol for “far”

遠い

とおい

Romaji: tooi

far; distant; far away; a long way off

In Japanese, far is 遠い, read とおい (tooi).

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-i far; distant; far away; a long way off; in the distance
adj-i distant (past); remote (in time); remote; far-removed (in time)
adj-i distant (relationship or kinship); having little to do (with someone)
adj-i far (from something else in quality, degree, etc.); not similar; way off
adj-i hard (of hearing)
adj-i nearsighted

Kanji and stroke order

遠

distant, far

on: エン、オン
kun: とお.い

13 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “far”

Word	Reading	Meaning
遥か	はるか haruka	far away; far off; far
ずっと	ずっと zutto	far (away); long (ago, before, after)
長々	ながなが naganaga	(extending) far; (stretching) out; (lying down) at full length
遠く	とおく tooku	long ago; far back; far (into the future)
数等	すうとう suutou	by far; by a long way; much

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
永遠	えいえん eien	eternity; perpetuity; permanence
遠慮	えんりょ enryo	reserve; constraint; restraint
望遠鏡	ぼうえんきょう bouenkyou	telescope
遠征	えんせい ensei	(military) expedition; campaign
敬遠	けいえん keien	pretending to respect (someone) while in fact staying distant; keeping at arm's length; giving a wide berth