King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “grotto”

Romaji: doukutsu
cave; cavern; grotto

In Japanese, grotto is , read (doukutsu).

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 cave; cavern; grotto

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

den, cave, excavation
on: ドウ
kun: ほら
9 strokes · JLPT 1
cavern
on: クツ、コツ
kun: いわや、いはや、あな
13 strokes

Other Japanese words for “grotto”

WordReadingMeaning
いわや iwayacave; cavern; grotto
ほらあな horaanacave; cavern; den
せっくつ sekkutsucavern; grotto; rock cave
グロット gurottogrotto

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
どうさつ dousatsudiscernment; insight
くうどう kuudoucavity; hollow; cave
ほらあな horaanacave; cavern; den
しょうにゅうどう shounyuudoulimestone cave; limestone cavern
ふうどう fuudouwind tunnel
そうくつ soukutsuden; haunt; hangout
せっくつ sekkutsucavern; grotto; rock cave
まくつ makutsuden of vice; rogue's den

See also: Chinese symbol for “grotto”.

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.