Japanese symbol for “manly”
男らしい
おとこらしい
Romaji: otokorashii
manly; masculine; like a man
In Japanese, manly is 男らしい, read おとこらしい (otokorashii).
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
- adj-i manly; masculine; like a man
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “manly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 潔い | いさぎよい isagiyoi | gracious (defeat, apology, etc.); graceful; honourable (e.g. death) |
| 雄々しい | おおしい ooshii | manly; brave; heroic |
| 男性的 | だんせいてき danseiteki | manly |
| 雄 | お o | manly; brave; heroic |
| 凛々しい | りりしい ririshii | gallant; manly; brave |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 男性 | だんせい dansei | man; male |
| 男子 | だんし danshi | boy |
| 男女 | だんじょ danjo | men and women; man and woman; both sexes |
| 男の子 | おとこのこ otokonoko | boy; son; baby boy |
| 長男 | ちょうなん chounan | eldest son (may be the only son); first-born son |
| 男爵 | だんしゃく danshaku | baron |
See also: Chinese symbol for “manly”.
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.