Japanese symbol for “rarely”
滅多に
めったに
Romaji: mettani
rarely; seldom
In Japanese, rarely is 滅多に, read めったに (mettani).
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 rarely; seldom
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “rarely”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 偶さか | たまさか tamasaka | rarely; unusually; seldom |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 消滅 | しょうめつ shoumetsu | extinction; extinguishment; disappearance |
| 破滅 | はめつ hametsu | ruin; destruction; fall |
| 絶滅 | ぜつめつ zetsumetsu | extinction; extermination |
| 滅亡 | めつぼう metsubou | downfall; ruin; collapse |
| 撲滅 | ぼくめつ bokumetsu | eradication; extermination; destruction |
| 全滅 | ぜんめつ zenmetsu | total destruction; complete destruction; annihilation |
| 多数 | たすう tasuu | large number (of); many |
| 多分 | たぶん tabun | probably; likely; perhaps |
See also: Chinese symbol for “rarely”.
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.