King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “hourglass”

Romaji: sunadokei
hourglass; sandglass

In Japanese, hourglass is , read (sunadokei).

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

  1. n hourglass; sandglass

Kanji and stroke order

sand
on: サ、シャ
kun: すな
9 strokes · JLPT 2
time, hour
on: ジ
kun: とき、-どき
10 strokes · JLPT 4
plot, plan, scheme
on: ケイ
kun: はか.る、はか.らう
9 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “hourglass”

WordReadingMeaning
さろう sarouhourglass; sandglass

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さとう satousugar
さばく sabakudesert
すなはま sunahamasandy beach
どしゃ doshasediment; earth and sand
さきゅう sakyuusand dune; sand hill
どしゃぶり doshaburidownpour; pouring rain; heavy rain
じかん jikantime
じだい jidaiperiod; epoch; era
けいかく keikakuplan; project; schedule

See also: Chinese symbol for “hourglass”.

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.

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