King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “liken”

Romaji: tatoeru
to compare (something) to; to liken; to speak figuratively; to use a simile

In Japanese, liken is , read (tatoeru).

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. v1, vt to compare (something) to; to liken; to speak figuratively; to use a simile; to use a metaphor

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

example, custom, usage
on: レイ
kun: たと.える
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “liken”

WordReadingMeaning
みたてる mitateruto liken (to); to compare (to); to imagine (something) as
よそえる yosoeruto compare; to liken
たぐえる tagueruto compare; to liken
ぎする gisuruto compare; to liken
ぎす gisuto compare; to liken

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
たとえば tatoebafor example; for instance; e.g.
れいがい reigaiexception
ひれい hireiproportion
じょうれい joureiregulations; rules
こうれい koureiestablished practice; custom
れいねん reinenaverage (normal, ordinary) year

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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