Japanese symbol for “pass”
峠
とうげ
Romaji: touge
(mountain) pass; highest point on a mountain road; ridge
In Japanese, pass is 峠, read とうげ (touge).
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, n-suf (mountain) pass; highest point on a mountain road; ridge
- n peak (e.g. of summer); worst (e.g. of an illness); crisis; critical point; most difficult part
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “pass”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 合格 | ごうかく goukaku | passing (an exam); pass; success |
| 経つ | たつ tatsu | to pass (of time); to elapse |
| 経る | へる heru | to pass; to elapse; to go by |
| 明かす | あかす akasu | to pass (the night); to spend |
| 取る | とる toru | to pass; to hand; to give |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大菩薩峠 | だいぼさつとうげ daibosatsutouge | The Sword of Doom (1966 film) |
| 碓氷峠 | うすいとうげ usuitouge | Usui Pass |
| 峠を越す | とうげをこす tougeokosu | to pass the peak (of something); to get through the most difficult part; to be over the worst (e.g. an illness) |
| 峠道 | とうげみち tougemichi | road over a mountain pass |
| 峠越え | とうげごえ tougegoe | crossing a mountain pass |
| 峠バトル | とうげバトル tougebatoru | mountain-pass street race |
See also: Chinese symbol for “pass”.
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.