Japanese symbol for “restless”
忙しい
いそがしい
Romaji: isogashii
busy; occupied; hectic
In Japanese, restless is 忙しい, read いそがしい (isogashii).
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-i busy; occupied; hectic
- adj-i restless; hurried; fidgety
Written forms: 忙しい、忙がしい. Readings: いそがしい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “restless”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不穏 | ふおん fuon | disquieting; threatening; turbulent |
| せっかち | せっかち sekkachi | hasty; impatient; restless |
| 忙しない | せわしない sewashinai | restless; fidgety; in a hurry |
| 騒々しい | そうぞうしい souzoushii | turbulent; unsettled; restless |
| 気ぜわしい | きぜわしい kizewashii | restless; fidgety; fussy |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 多忙 | たぼう tabou | being very busy; busyness |
| 繁忙 | はんぼう hanbou | busy; high-stress; hectic |
| 忙殺 | ぼうさつ bousatsu | overloading (someone; with work); overworking (someone); overwhelming |
| 大忙し | おおいそがし ooisogashi | very busy |
See also: Chinese symbol for “restless”.
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.