Japanese symbol for “indentation”
溝
みぞ
Romaji: mizo
ditch; drain; gutter; trench
In Japanese, indentation is 溝, read みぞ (mizo).
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 ditch; drain; gutter; trench
- n groove; tread; indentation
- n gap (between people, countries, etc.); gulf; rift
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “indentation”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刻々 | ぎざぎざ gizagiza | notches; serration; indentation |
| 圧入 | あつにゅう atsunyuu | indentation |
| 屈曲 | くっきょく kukkyoku | crookedness; bending; indentation |
| 字下げ | じさげ jisage | indentation |
| 陥凹 | かんおう kan'ou | indentation; recessus; vallecula |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海溝 | かいこう kaikou | oceanic trench; deep-sea trench; deep |
| 側溝 | そっこう sokkou | gutter; ditch |
| 盧溝橋 | ろこうきょう rokoukyou | Marco Polo Bridge (China) |
| 地溝 | ちこう chikou | rift valley |
| 大溝 | おおどぶ oodobu | large ditch |
| 溝鼠 | どぶねずみ dobunezumi | brown rat (Rattus norvegicus); common rat; street rat |
See also: Chinese symbol for “indentation”.
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.