King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “nervously”

Romaji: osoruosoru
fearfully; timidly; nervously; cautiously

In Japanese, nervously is , read (osoruosoru).

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 fearfully; timidly; nervously; cautiously; gingerly

Kanji and stroke order

fear, dread, awe
on: キョウ
kun: おそ.れる、おそ.る、おそ.ろしい、こわ.い
10 strokes · JLPT 2
fear, dread, awe
on: キョウ
kun: おそ.れる、おそ.る、おそ.ろしい、こわ.い
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “nervously”

WordReadingMeaning
せんせんきょうきょう sensenkyoukyoutrembling with fear; in great fear; filled with trepidation
そわそわ sowasowarestlessly; nervously; uneasily
オドオド odoodotimidly; nervously; hesitantly
きょうきょう kyoukyoufearfully; timidly; nervously
こわごわ kowagowafearfully; timidly; cautiously

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
おそれ osorefear; horror; anxiety
きょうふ kyoufufear; dread; dismay
おそろしい osoroshiiterrible; dreadful; terrifying
おそらく osorakuprobably; (most) likely; in all likelihood
おそれる osoreruto fear; to be afraid of
きょうりゅう kyouryuudinosaur

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.