Japanese symbol for “heavy”
重い
おもい
Romaji: omoi
heavy; weighty
In Japanese, heavy is 重い, read おもい (omoi).
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
- adj-i heavy; weighty
- adj-i heavy (feeling); depressed; gloomy; blue; uneasy
- adj-i slow; sluggish; lumbering; ponderous; clumsy
- adj-i important (position, responsibility, etc.); serious; grave
- adj-i serious (punishment, illness, etc.); severe; critical
- adj-i solid; established; dignified; sensible
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “heavy”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 濃厚 | のうこう noukou | rich (flavor, color, etc.); strong (e.g. odor); heavy |
| 大 | おお oo | large; big; great |
| 厚い | あつい atsui | thick; deep; heavy |
| 重苦しい | おもくるしい omokurushii | heavy (feeling, etc.); gloomy (weather, etc.); oppressive (atmosphere, etc.) |
| 重たい | おもたい omotai | heavy; weighty |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 重要 | じゅうよう juuyou | important; essential; significant |
| 体重 | たいじゅう taijuu | (body) weight |
| 貴重 | きちょう kichou | precious; valuable |
| 重視 | じゅうし juushi | regarding as important; attaching importance to; taking a serious view of |
| 重大 | じゅうだい juudai | serious; important; significant |
| 重量 | じゅうりょう juuryou | weight |
See also: Chinese symbol for “heavy”.
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.