King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “reversing”

Romaji: koutai
retreat; falling back; moving backwards; reversing

In Japanese, reversing is , read (koutai).

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 retreat; falling back; moving backwards; reversing; backing up (of a vehicle); retrogression
  2. n, vi, vs recession; waning
  3. n backspace (key) (comp)

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
retreat, withdraw, retire
on: タイ
kun: しりぞ.く、しりぞ.ける、ひ.く、の.く
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “reversing”

WordReadingMeaning
バック bakkugoing backwards; reversing; backing up
こうしん koushinmoving backwards; backing up; reversing
はんぷく hanpukureversing; turning around; flipping

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
いんたい intairetirement
たいしょく taishokuretirement; resignation

See also: Chinese symbol for “reversing”.

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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