Japanese symbol for “paving”
舗装
ほそう
Romaji: hosou
paving (a road); surfacing (with asphalt, concrete, etc.); pavement
In Japanese, paving is 舗装, read ほそう (hosou).
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 paving (a road); surfacing (with asphalt, concrete, etc.); pavement
Written forms: 舗装、鋪装. Readings: ほそう.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 店舗 | てんぽ tenpo | shop; store; establishment |
| 老舗 | しにせ shinise | long-established shop; shop of long standing; old shop |
| 本舗 | ほんぽ honpo | head office; main shop |
| 舗道 | ほどう hodou | paved road; paved street |
| 装置 | そうち souchi | equipment; device; installation |
| 武装 | ぶそう busou | arms; armament; taking up arms |
| 衣装 | いしょう ishou | clothing; costume; outfit |
| 服装 | ふくそう fukusou | attire; dress; clothes |
See also: Chinese symbol for “paving”.
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.