Japanese symbol for “plodding”

とぼとぼ

Romaji: tobotobo

trudging (along); plodding; slowly and with heavy steps

In Japanese, plodding is とぼとぼ (tobotobo).

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

adv, adv-to trudging (along); plodding; slowly and with heavy steps

Written forms: —. Readings: とぼとぼ、トボトボ.

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.