Japanese symbol for “predation”

捕食

ほしょく

Romaji: hoshoku

predation; eating prey; preying upon

In Japanese, predation is 捕食, read ほしょく (hoshoku).

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, vs, vt predation; eating prey; preying upon

Kanji and stroke order

捕

catch, capture

on: ホ
kun: と.らえる、と.らわれる、と.る、とら.える

10 strokes · JLPT 2

食

eat, food

on: ショク、ジキ
kun: く.う、く.らう、た.べる、は.む

9 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
逮捕	たいほ taiho	arrest; apprehension; capture
捕虜	ほりょ horyo	prisoner (of war); POW; captive
捕獲	ほかく hokaku	capture; seizure
捕鯨	ほげい hogei	whaling; whale hunting; whale fishing
捕手	ほしゅ hoshu	catcher
捕まえる	つかまえる tsukamaeru	to catch; to capture; to arrest
食事	しょくじ shokuji	meal (e.g. lunch, dinner)
食品	しょくひん shokuhin	food; food products; foodstuffs

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.