Japanese symbol for “frog”
蛙
かえる
Romaji: kaeru
frog
In Japanese, frog is 蛙, read かえる (kaeru).
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 frog
Written forms: 蛙、蛤、蝦. Readings: かえる、カエル.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “frog”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| フロッグ | フロッグ furoggu | frog |
| 剣山 | けんざん kenzan | needle-point holder (in ikebana); frog |
| 蹄叉 | ていさ teisa | frog; fourchette; pad in a horse's hoof that acts as a shock absorber |
| 糞蛙 | くそがえる kusogaeru | frog (esp. the wrinkled frog or Asian grass frog); toad (esp. the Japanese toad) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 青蛙 | あおがえる aogaeru | green (tree) frog |
| 雨蛙 | あまがえる amagaeru | tree frog (esp. the Japanese tree frog, Hyla japonica) |
| 蛙飛び | かえるとび kaerutobi | (game of) leapfrog; leapfrogging |
| 殿様蛙 | とのさまがえる tonosamagaeru | black-spotted pond frog (Rana nigromaculata) |
| 蛙股 | かえるまた kaerumata | curved wooden support on top of the main beam of a house, now mainly decorative (shape evokes an open-legged frog) |
| 赤蛙 | あかがえる akagaeru | any brown or reddish-brown frog of the family Ranidae |
See also: Chinese symbol for “frog”.
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.