King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “flank”

Romaji: sokumen
side; flank; profile; sidelight

In Japanese, flank is , read (sokumen).

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 side; flank; profile; sidelight; lateral
  2. n aspect; dimension

Kanji and stroke order

side, lean, oppose
on: ソク
kun: かわ、がわ、そば
11 strokes · JLPT 2
mask, face, features
on: メン、ベン
kun: おも、おもて、つら
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “flank”

WordReadingMeaning
わき wakiarmpit; under one's arm; side
わきばら wakibaraside (of the torso); flank
よこばら yokobaraside; flank
よこっぱら yokopparaside; flank
そくはい sokuhaiflank

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
うちがわ uchigawainside; interior; inner part
そとがわ sotogawaexterior; outside; outer
みぎがわ migigawaright side; right-hand side
ひだりがわ hidarigawaleft side; left-hand side
りょうがわ ryougawaboth sides
がめん gamenscreen (of a TV, computer, etc.)
めんどう mendoutrouble; bother
おもしろい omoshiroiinteresting; fascinating; intriguing

See also: Chinese symbol for “flank”.

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.