Japanese symbol for “motion”
動き
うごき
Romaji: ugoki
movement; move; motion
In Japanese, motion is 動き, read うごき (ugoki).
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 movement; move; motion
- n trend; development; change; fluctuation
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “motion”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 動 | どう dou | motion |
| 動作 | どうさ dousa | movement (of the body); action; motion |
| 運動 | うんどう undou | motion; movement |
| 動議 | どうぎ dougi | motion (i.e. proposal to a committee, etc.) |
| 提言 | ていげん teigen | proposal; motion; recommendation |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 活動 | かつどう katsudou | activity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; operation |
| 行動 | こうどう koudou | action; conduct; behaviour |
| 運動 | うんどう undou | exercise; physical training; workout |
| 動物 | どうぶつ doubutsu | animal |
| 移動 | いどう idou | movement; transfer; migration |
| 自動 | じどう jidou | automatic |
See also: Chinese symbol for “motion”.
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.