Japanese symbol for “possibly”
到底
とうてい
Romaji: toutei
(cannot) possibly; (not) by any means; (not) at all; utterly
In Japanese, possibly is 到底, read とうてい (toutei).
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 (cannot) possibly; (not) by any means; (not) at all; utterly; absolutely
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “possibly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| かも | かも kamo | may; might; perhaps |
| どうやら | どうやら douyara | possibly; apparently; (seem) likely |
| ひょっと | ひょっと hyotto | possibly; perhaps; perchance |
| ひょっとしたら | ひょっとしたら hyottoshitara | possibly; by some possibility; perhaps |
| 所詮 | しょせん shosen | (cannot) possibly; (not) at all; (not) by any means |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 到着 | とうちゃく touchaku | arrival |
| 到達 | とうたつ toutatsu | reaching; attaining; arrival |
| 到来 | とうらい tourai | arrival; coming; advent |
| 殺到 | さっとう sattou | rush; flood; deluge |
| 周到 | しゅうとう shuutou | careful; thorough; meticulous |
| 徹底 | てってい tettei | thoroughness; completeness; consistency |
| 海底 | かいてい kaitei | bottom of the ocean; seafloor; seabed |
| 根底 | こんてい kontei | root; basis; foundation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “possibly”.
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.