Japanese symbol for “reminiscing”

回顧

かいこ

Romaji: kaiko

recollecting; reminiscing; looking back; retrospection

In Japanese, reminiscing is 回顧, read かいこ (kaiko).

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, n, vs recollecting; reminiscing; looking back; retrospection; review

Kanji and stroke order

回

-times, round, game

on: カイ、エ
kun: まわ.る、-まわ.る、-まわ.り、まわ.す

6 strokes · JLPT 3

顧

look back, review, examine oneself

on: コ
kun: かえり.みる

21 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
今回	こんかい konkai	this time; now
回復	かいふく kaifuku	restoration; recovery; rehabilitation
前回	ぜんかい zenkai	previous time; last time; previous installment
回答	かいとう kaitou	reply; answer
回収	かいしゅう kaishuu	collection; recovery; withdrawal
回転	かいてん kaiten	rotation; revolution; turn
顧客	こきゃく kokyaku	customer; client; patron
顧問	こもん komon	adviser; advisor; consultant

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.