Japanese symbol for “nostalgia”
郷愁
きょうしゅう
Romaji: kyoushuu
nostalgia; homesickness
In Japanese, nostalgia is 郷愁, read きょうしゅう (kyoushuu).
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 nostalgia; homesickness
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “nostalgia”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ノスタルジア | ノスタルジア nosutarujia | nostalgia |
| ノスタルジー | ノスタルジー nosutarujii | nostalgia |
| 望郷 | ぼうきょう boukyou | homesickness; nostalgia |
| 懐古 | かいこ kaiko | reminiscence; nostalgia; thinking fondly of the past |
| 懐郷 | かいきょう kaikyou | nostalgia; homesickness; longing for home |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 故郷 | ふるさと furusato | hometown; birthplace; native place |
| 郷土 | きょうど kyoudo | native place; birth-place; one's old home |
| 郷里 | きょうり kyouri | hometown; birthplace |
| 帰郷 | ききょう kikyou | homecoming; return to one's home |
| 哀愁 | あいしゅう aishuu | pathos; sorrow; grief |
| 愁傷 | しゅうしょう shuushou | grief; sorrow |
| 愁訴 | しゅうそ shuuso | complaint (of pain, suffering, etc.); appeal |
| 憂愁 | ゆうしゅう yuushuu | melancholy; gloom; grief |
See also: Chinese symbol for “nostalgia”.
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.