Japanese symbol for “fly”
飛ぶ
とぶ
Romaji: tobu
to fly; to soar
In Japanese, fly is 飛ぶ, read とぶ (tobu).
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
- v5b, vi to fly; to soar
- v5b, vi to jump; to leap; to spring; to bound; to hop
- v5b, vi to spatter; to scatter; to splash; to fly (e.g. of sparks)
- v5b, vi to hurry; to rush
- v5b, vi to flee; to run off; to escape
- v5b, vi to disappear; to vanish; to fade; to thin out
Written forms: 飛ぶ、跳ぶ、翔ぶ. Readings: とぶ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “fly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 掲げる | かかげる kakageru | to put up (a notice, sign, etc.); to hang out (e.g. a banner); to fly (e.g. a flag) |
| 蠅 | はえ hae | fly (any insect of infraorder Muscomorpha) |
| 飛球 | ひきゅう hikyuu | fly (ball) |
| フライ | フライ furai | fly (ball) |
| 翔る | かける kakeru | to soar; to fly |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 飛行 | ひこう hikou | flight; flying; aviation |
| 飛行機 | ひこうき hikouki | airplane; aeroplane; plane |
| 飛躍 | ひやく hiyaku | leap; jump |
| 飛ばし | とばし tobashi | selling or divesting in unwanted stocks; hiding bad loans |
| 飛ばす | とばす tobasu | to let fly; to make fly; to send flying |
See also: Chinese symbol for “fly”.
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.