Japanese symbol for “outskirts”
近郊
きんこう
Romaji: kinkou
outskirts; environs (of a city); surrounding area; surroundings
In Japanese, outskirts is 近郊, read きんこう (kinkou).
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 outskirts; environs (of a city); surrounding area; surroundings
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “outskirts”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 周辺 | しゅうへん shuuhen | circumference; outskirts; environs |
| 外れ | はずれ hazure | end; verge; extremity |
| 場末 | ばすえ basue | outskirts (of a town); run-down district |
| 町外れ | まちはずれ machihazure | outskirts (of a town); edge (of a town); just outside the city limits |
| 野外 | やがい yagai | fields; outskirts; suburbs |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 最近 | さいきん saikin | recently; lately; these days |
| 近所 | きんじょ kinjo | neighbourhood; neighborhood; vicinity |
| 付近 | ふきん fukin | neighborhood; neighbourhood; vicinity |
| 近い | ちかい chikai | near; close; short (distance) |
| 近代 | きんだい kindai | present day; modern times; recent times |
| 接近 | せっきん sekkin | getting closer; drawing nearer; approaching |
| 郊外 | こうがい kougai | suburb; residential area on the outskirt of a city; commuter belt |
| 北郊 | ほっこう hokkou | northern suburbs |
See also: Chinese symbol for “outskirts”.
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.