Japanese symbol for “flute”
笛
ふえ
Romaji: fue
flute; fife; pipe; recorder
In Japanese, flute is 笛, read ふえ (fue).
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
- n flute; fife; pipe; recorder; flageolet; shakuhachi
- n whistle
Written forms: 笛. Readings: ふえ、ちゃく.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “flute”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| フルート | フルート furuuto | flute |
| ピーピー | ピーピー piipii | flute; pipe |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 口笛 | くちぶえ kuchibue | whistle (sound made with the lips) |
| 汽笛 | きてき kiteki | steam whistle |
| 警笛 | けいてき keiteki | horn; alarm; whistle |
| 草笛 | くさぶえ kusabue | reed pipe |
| 角笛 | つのぶえ tsunobue | horn (instrument; made of animal horn); bugle; hunting horn |
| 篠笛 | しのぶえ shinobue | Japanese transverse bamboo flute (high-pitched; usu. with seven holes) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “flute”.
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.