Japanese symbol for “fleeting”
儚い
はかない
Romaji: hakanai
fleeting; transient; short-lived; momentary
In Japanese, fleeting is 儚い, read はかない (hakanai).
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 fleeting; transient; short-lived; momentary; ephemeral; fickle
- adj-i empty (dream, etc.); mere (hope); faint (possibility)
Written forms: 儚い、果敢無い、果無い、果敢ない. Readings: はかない.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “fleeting”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| チラリ | チラリ chirari | fleeting (glimpse, glance, etc.) |
| 淡い | あわい awai | faint (feeling, hope, etc.); fleeting; slight |
| 電光朝露 | でんこうちょうろ denkouchouro | fleeting; evanescent |
| 一過性 | いっかせい ikkasei | transient (symptom, phenomenon); temporary; passing |
| 仮初め | かりそめ karisome | temporary; transient; transitory |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 儚くなる | はかなくなる hakanakunaru | to die; to pass away |
| 儚む | はかなむ hakanamu | to despair of; to see the vanity of |
See also: Chinese symbol for “fleeting”.
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.