Japanese symbol for “imagination”
想像
そうぞう
Romaji: souzou
imagination; supposition; guess
In Japanese, imagination is 想像, read そうぞう (souzou).
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, vs, vt imagination; supposition; guess
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “imagination”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 思い | おもい omoi | imagination; mind; heart |
| 仮想 | かそう kasou | imagination; supposition; virtual |
| 考え | かんがえ kangae | idea; notion; imagination |
| ビジョン | ビジョン bijon | imagination; insight |
| イマジネーション | イマジネーション imajineeshon | imagination; supposition |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 予想 | よそう yosou | expectation; anticipation; prediction |
| 感想 | かんそう kansou | impressions; thoughts; feelings |
| 思想 | しそう shisou | thought; idea; ideology |
| 理想 | りそう risou | ideal; ideals |
| 可哀想 | かわいそう kawaisou | poor; pitiable; pathetic |
| 画像 | がぞう gazou | image; picture; portrait |
| 映像 | えいぞう eizou | image (on a screen); picture (e.g. on a TV) |
| 仏像 | ぶつぞう butsuzou | statue of Buddha; image of Buddha; Buddhist statue |
See also: Chinese symbol for “imagination”.
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.