Japanese symbol for “pick”
候補
こうほ
Romaji: kouho
candidate; contender; prospect; pick
In Japanese, pick is 候補, read こうほ (kouho).
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 candidate; contender; prospect; pick; choice; list
- n candidacy; candidature; nomination
Written forms: 候補、侯補. Readings: こうほ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “pick”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 選ぶ | えらぶ erabu | to choose; to select; to pick (out) |
| 取る | とる toru | to pick (e.g. flowers); to gather; to extract (e.g. juice) |
| 売る | うる uru | to pick (a fight, quarrel, etc.); to provoke; to force on someone |
| 折る | おる oru | to break; to fracture; to break off |
| 精鋭 | せいえい seiei | elite; best; pick |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 立候補 | りっこうほ rikkouho | candidacy; standing as a candidate; bidding (to host an event, e.g. the Olympics) |
| 気候 | きこう kikou | climate |
| 天候 | てんこう tenkou | weather |
| 兆候 | ちょうこう choukou | sign; indication; omen |
| 症候群 | しょうこうぐん shoukougun | syndrome |
| 補助 | ほじょ hojo | assistance; support; help |
| 補給 | ほきゅう hokyuu | supply; supplying; replenishment |
| 補償 | ほしょう hoshou | compensation; reparation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “pick”.
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.