King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “respiration”

Romaji: kokyuu
breathing; respiration

In Japanese, respiration is , read (kokyuu).

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. n, vi, vs breathing; respiration
  2. n knack; trick; secret (of doing something)
  3. n harmony; balance; synchronization; accord
  4. n short interval; short pause

Kanji and stroke order

call, call out to, invite
on: コ
kun: よ.ぶ
8 strokes · JLPT 2
suck, imbibe, inhale
on: キュウ
kun: す.う
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “respiration”

WordReadingMeaning
いきづかい ikizukaibreathing; respiration
あうん auninspiration and expiration; respiration; alpha and omega

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
よぶ yobuto call out (to); to call; to invoke
よびかけ yobikakecall; appeal
よびな yobinapopular name; common name; given name
よびだす yobidasuto call (someone) to (the door, phone, etc.); to tell (someone) to come; to call up (on the phone)
よびだし yobidashicall; summons; paging
きゅうしゅう kyuushuuabsorption; suction; attraction
すう suuto breathe in; to inhale; to smoke (a cigarette, etc.)
きゅういん kyuuinabsorption; suction; aspiration

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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