Japanese symbol for “postponing”

後回し

あとまわし

Romaji: atomawashi

putting off; postponing

In Japanese, postponing is 後回し, read あとまわし (atomawashi).

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 putting off; postponing

Kanji and stroke order

後

behind, back, later

on: ゴ、コウ
kun: のち、うし.ろ、うしろ、あと

9 strokes · JLPT 4

回

-times, round, game

on: カイ、エ
kun: まわ.る、-まわ.る、-まわ.り、まわ.す

6 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
最後	さいご saigo	end; conclusion
今後	こんご kongo	from now on; hereafter
午後	ごご gogo	afternoon; p.m.
後半	こうはん kouhan	second half; latter half
後ろ	うしろ ushiro	back; behind; rear
直後	ちょくご chokugo	immediately following
今回	こんかい konkai	this time; now
回復	かいふく kaifuku	restoration; recovery; rehabilitation

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.