King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “flute”

Romaji: fue
flute; fife; pipe; recorder

In Japanese, flute is , read (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

  1. n flute; fife; pipe; recorder; flageolet; shakuhachi
  2. n whistle

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

flute, clarinet, pipe
on: テキ
kun: ふえ
11 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “flute”

WordReadingMeaning
フルート furuutoflute
ピーピー piipiiflute; pipe

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
くちぶえ kuchibuewhistle (sound made with the lips)
きてき kitekisteam whistle
けいてき keitekihorn; alarm; whistle
くさぶえ kusabuereed pipe
つのぶえ tsunobuehorn (instrument; made of animal horn); bugle; hunting horn
しのぶえ shinobueJapanese 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.

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