King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “inscription”

Romaji: hibun
inscription; epitaph; epigraph

In Japanese, inscription is , read (hibun).

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. adj-no, n inscription; epitaph; epigraph

Kanji and stroke order

tombstone, monument
on: ヒ
kun: いしぶみ
14 strokes · JLPT 1
sentence, literature, style
on: ブン、モン
kun: ふみ、あや
4 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “inscription”

WordReadingMeaning
めいぶん meibuninscription
めい meiinscription; epitaph
さん saninscription (on a painting)
ないせつ naisetsuinscription; being inscribed
ひめい himeiinscription; epitaph

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
せきひ sekihistone monument
ぼひ bohigravestone; tombstone
しひ shihimonument (stele, gravestone, etc.) engraved with a poem
かひ kahimonument (stele, gravestone, etc.) engraved with a waka
きねんひ kinenhicommemorative plaque (usu. on a stone); stone monument (bearing an inscription)
ぶんか bunkaculture; civilization; civilisation
もじ mojiletter (of an alphabet); character
ちゅうもん chuumonorder (for an item)

See also: Chinese symbol for “inscription”.

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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