Japanese symbol for “motive”
動機
どうき
Romaji: douki
motive; incentive
In Japanese, motive is 動機, read どうき (douki).
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 motive; incentive
- n motif
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “motive”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 理由 | りゆう riyuu | reason; grounds; pretext |
| 目的 | もくてき mokuteki | purpose; goal; aim |
| 本音 | ほんね honne | real intention; motive; true opinion |
| 誘因 | ゆういん yuuin | contributing cause; exciting cause; incentive |
| 思惑 | おもわく omowaku | purpose; intention; motive |
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 |
| 機能 | きのう kinou | function; facility; faculty |
| 機関 | きかん kikan | engine |
See also: Chinese symbol for “motive”.
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.