King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “rear”

Romaji: ato
behind; rear

In Japanese, rear is , read (ato).

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

  1. adj-no, n behind; rear
  2. adj-no, n after; later
  3. adj-no, n remainder; the rest
  4. adv, n more (e.g. five more minutes); left
  5. adv, n also; in addition
  6. adj-no, n descendant; successor; heir

Kanji and stroke order

behind, back, later
on: ゴ、コウ
kun: のち、うし.ろ、うしろ、あと
9 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “rear”

WordReadingMeaning
こうほう kouhourear; back; behind
うしろ ushiroback; behind; rear
こうぶ kouburear; stern
はいご haigoback; rear
リア riarear

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さいご saigoend; conclusion
こんご kongofrom now on; hereafter
ごご gogoafternoon; p.m.
こうはん kouhansecond half; latter half
うしろ ushiroback; behind; rear
ちょくご chokugoimmediately following

See also: Chinese symbol for “rear”.

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.

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