Japanese symbol for “hopelessly”

如何にも

どうにも

Romaji: dounimo

(not) in any way; in no way; at all

In Japanese, hopelessly is 如何にも, read どうにも (dounimo).

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

adv (not) in any way; in no way; at all
adv terribly; awfully; hopelessly

Kanji and stroke order

如

likeness, like, such as

on: ジョ、ニョ
kun: ごと.し

6 strokes · JLPT 1

何

what

on: カ
kun: なに、なん、なに-、なん-

7 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
欠如	けつじょ ketsujo	lack; absence; shortage
突如	とつじょ totsujo	suddenly; all of a sudden; unexpectedly
如何	どう dou	how; in what way; how about
如実	にょじつ nyojitsu	reality; actuality; actual conditions
如来	にょらい nyorai	Tathagata; perfected one (suffix of high-ranking Buddhist deities)
何とか	なんとか nantoka	something; something or other; so-and-so
何で	なんで nande	why?; what for?
何より	なにより naniyori	above anything else; above all; more than anything

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.