King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “narrowly”

Romaji: ayauku
barely; narrowly

In Japanese, narrowly is , read (ayauku).

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. adv barely; narrowly
  2. adv almost; nearly

Kanji and stroke order

dangerous, fear, uneasy
on: キ
kun: あぶ.ない、あや.うい、あや.ぶむ
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “narrowly”

WordReadingMeaning
かろうじて karoujitebarely; narrowly; only just
かんいっぱつ kan'ippatsunarrowly; just in time; by a hair's breadth
からくも karakumobarely; narrowly; with difficulty
ようやく youyakubarely; narrowly; hardly
ほそめに hosomeni(open) a little; slightly; narrowly

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
きけん kikendanger; peril; hazard
きき kikicrisis; critical situation; emergency
きぐ kiguapprehension; misgivings; uneasiness
あぶない abunaidangerous; risky; hazardous
あやうい ayauidangerous; in danger; facing imminent danger

See also: Chinese symbol for “narrowly”.

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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