Japanese symbol for “hmm”
か
か
Romaji: ka
indicates a question
In Japanese, hmm is か (ka).
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
- prt indicates a question
- prt indicates an embedded question; indicates an indirect question
- prt or; whether or not; either ... or ...
- prt some- (e.g. something, someone)
- prt hmm; huh; I wonder (if, why, etc.); it might (be); maybe; perhaps it's (because of)
- prt shouldn't we ...?; why don't we ...?; what about ...?; how about ...?; let's ...; may I ...?
Other Japanese words for “hmm”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ふん | ふん fun | hmm; well ...; humph |
| ふむ | ふむ fumu | hmm; I see; hrm |
| むむ | むむ mumu | hum; hmm |
| さあ | さあ saa | well; hmm; uh |
| あっそ | あっそ asso | oh, OK; oh, I see; oh, yeah? |
See also: Chinese symbol for “hmm”.
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.