Japanese symbol for “groove”
溝
みぞ
Romaji: mizo
ditch; drain; gutter; trench
In Japanese, groove is 溝, read みぞ (mizo).
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 ditch; drain; gutter; trench
- n groove; tread; indentation
- n gap (between people, countries, etc.); gulf; rift
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “groove”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 轍 | わだち wadachi | rut; wheel track; furrow |
| グルーヴ | グルーヴ guruuvu | groove |
| 開先 | かいさき kaisaki | groove (in welding) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海溝 | かいこう kaikou | oceanic trench; deep-sea trench; deep |
| 側溝 | そっこう sokkou | gutter; ditch |
| 盧溝橋 | ろこうきょう rokoukyou | Marco Polo Bridge (China) |
| 地溝 | ちこう chikou | rift valley |
| 大溝 | おおどぶ oodobu | large ditch |
| 溝鼠 | どぶねずみ dobunezumi | brown rat (Rattus norvegicus); common rat; street rat |
See also: Chinese symbol for “groove”.
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.