Japanese symbol for “reactive”

後手後手

ごてごて

Romaji: gotegote

behind with everything; too late; reactive

In Japanese, reactive is 後手後手, read ごてごて (gotegote).

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

adj-no, exp, n behind with everything; too late; reactive

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

手

hand

on: シュ、ズ
kun: て、て-、-て、た-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

後

behind, back, later

on: ゴ、コウ
kun: のち、うし.ろ、うしろ、あと

9 strokes · JLPT 4

手

hand

on: シュ、ズ
kun: て、て-、-て、た-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

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
相手	あいて aite	companion; partner; company
選手	せんしゅ senshu	player (of a sport); athlete; team member
手段	しゅだん shudan	means; way; method

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.