Japanese symbol for “horse”
馬
うま
Romaji: uma
horse
In Japanese, horse is 馬, read うま (uma).
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 horse
- n horse racing
- n promoted bishop (shogi)
- n knight (court card in mekuri karuta and unsun karuta) (cards)
Written forms: 馬. Readings: うま、ウマ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “horse”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 午 | うま uma | the Horse (seventh sign of the Chinese zodiac) |
| 駒 | こま koma | horse; foal |
| ホース | ホース hoosu | horse |
| 木馬 | もくば mokuba | the horse (ancient torture device that one was forced to straddle with rocks hanging from the feet) |
| 中石 | なかいし nakaishi | horse; block of rock completely separated from the surrounding rock either by mineral veins or fault planes |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 競馬 | けいば keiba | horse racing |
| 馬鹿 | ばか baka | idiot; moron; fool |
| 馬場 | ばば baba | riding ground; racecourse; racetrack |
| 出馬 | しゅつば shutsuba | running (for election); coming forward as a candidate |
| 馬力 | ばりき bariki | horsepower; hp |
| 馬券 | ばけん baken | betting ticket; betting slip |
See also: Chinese symbol for “horse”.
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.