Japanese symbol for “parentheses”
括弧
かっこ
Romaji: kakko
brackets; parentheses
In Japanese, parentheses is 括弧, read かっこ (kakko).
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, vs, vt brackets; parentheses
Written forms: 括弧. Readings: かっこ、カッコ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “parentheses”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| パーレン | パーレン paaren | parentheses; round brackets |
| 小括弧 | しょうかっこ shoukakko | parentheses; parenthesis; (round) brackets |
| 丸括弧 | まるかっこ marukakko | parentheses; round brackets |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一括 | いっかつ ikkatsu | lumping together; summing up; bundle |
| 包括 | ほうかつ houkatsu | inclusion; complete coverage; comprehensiveness |
| 総括 | そうかつ soukatsu | summarization; summary; generalization |
| 統括 | とうかつ toukatsu | unification; bringing together; generalization |
| 一括払い | いっかつばらい ikkatsubarai | lump-sum payment; paying the entire sum in one transaction |
| 円弧 | えんこ enko | circular arc |
| 弧状 | こじょう kojou | arc shape; crescent shape |
| 右小括弧 | みぎしょうかっこ migishoukakko | closing parenthesis |
See also: Chinese symbol for “parentheses”.
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.