Japanese symbol for “gyrus”

脳回

のうかい

Romaji: noukai

gyrus; ridge on the cerebral cortex

In Japanese, gyrus is 脳回, read のうかい (noukai).

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 gyrus; ridge on the cerebral cortex

Kanji and stroke order

脳

brain, memory

on: ノウ、ドウ
kun: のうずる

11 strokes · JLPT 2

回

-times, round, game

on: カイ、エ
kun: まわ.る、-まわ.る、-まわ.り、まわ.す

6 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
首脳	しゅのう shunou	head; leader; top
頭脳	ずのう zunou	head; brains
脳死	のうし noushi	brain death
洗脳	せんのう sennou	brainwashing
大脳	だいのう dainou	cerebrum
脳卒中	のうそっちゅう nousotchuu	stroke; cerebral haemorrhage; cerebral hemorrhage
今回	こんかい konkai	this time; now
回復	かいふく kaifuku	restoration; recovery; rehabilitation

See also: Chinese symbol for “gyrus”.

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.