Japanese symbol for “pray”
祈る
いのる
Romaji: inoru
to pray; to say a prayer; to say grace
In Japanese, pray is 祈る, read いのる (inoru).
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
- v5r, vt to pray; to say a prayer; to say grace
- v5r, vt to wish; to hope
Written forms: 祈る、祷る、禱る. Readings: いのる.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “pray”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| どうぞ | どうぞ douzo | please; kindly; pray |
| 乞う | こう kou | to pray; to wish |
| 祭る | まつる matsuru | to pray; to worship |
| 願う | ねがう negau | to beg; to request; to implore |
| 念じる | ねんじる nenjiru | to wish (for); to pray (for); to hope (for) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 祈り | いのり inori | prayer; supplication |
| 祈願 | きがん kigan | prayer (for something); supplication |
| 祈祷 | きとう kitou | prayer; grace (at meals) |
| 祈念 | きねん kinen | prayer |
| お祈り | おいのり oinori | prayer; supplication |
See also: Chinese symbol for “pray”.
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.