Japanese symbol for “merely”
単に
たんに
Romaji: tanni
simply; merely; only; solely
In Japanese, merely is 単に, read たんに (tanni).
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
- adv simply; merely; only; solely
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “merely”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 丈 | だけ dake | only; just; merely |
| たった | たった tatta | only; merely; but |
| ばっか | ばっか bakka | only; merely; nothing but |
| 只 | ただ tada | only; merely; just |
| 迄 | まで made | only; merely |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 簡単 | かんたん kantan | simple; easy; uncomplicated |
| 単位 | たんい tan'i | unit (e.g. meters, grams, etc.); denomination |
| 単純 | たんじゅん tanjun | simple; plain; uncomplicated |
| 単なる | たんなる tannaru | mere; simple; sheer |
| 単語 | たんご tango | word; vocabulary |
See also: Chinese symbol for “merely”.
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.