Japanese symbol for “gesture”
動作
どうさ
Romaji: dousa
movement (of the body); action; motion; gesture
In Japanese, gesture is 動作, read どうさ (dousa).
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 movement (of the body); action; motion; gesture
- n bearing; carriage; behaviour; behavior; demeanour; demeanor
- n, vi, vs operation (of a machine, software, etc.); running; working; functioning
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “gesture”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 仕草 | しぐさ shigusa | gesture; movement; action |
| 身振り | みぶり miburi | gesture; gesticulation; motion |
| 手振り | てぶり teburi | (hand) gesture; movement of the hand |
| ジェスチャー | ジェスチャー jesuchaa | gesture |
| 表意 | ひょうい hyoui | expressing one's intent; gesture |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 活動 | かつどう katsudou | activity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; operation |
| 行動 | こうどう koudou | action; conduct; behaviour |
| 運動 | うんどう undou | exercise; physical training; workout |
| 動物 | どうぶつ doubutsu | animal |
| 移動 | いどう idou | movement; transfer; migration |
| 自動 | じどう jidou | automatic |
| 作る | つくる tsukuru | to make; to produce; to manufacture |
| 作品 | さくひん sakuhin | work (e.g. book, film, painting, composition); piece; production |
See also: Chinese symbol for “gesture”.
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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