Japanese symbol for “roughly”
一応
いちおう
Romaji: ichiou
more or less; though not quite satisfactorily; after a fashion; pretty much
In Japanese, roughly is 一応, read いちおう (ichiou).
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, adv, n more or less; though not quite satisfactorily; after a fashion; pretty much; roughly; so far as it goes
- adv, n tentatively; for the time being
- adv, n just in case
- adv, n once
Written forms: 一応、一往. Readings: いちおう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “roughly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大体 | だいたい daitai | generally; on the whole; mostly |
| 通り | どおり doori | roughly; about |
| 略 | ほぼ hobo | roughly; approximately; about |
| ざっと | ざっと zatto | roughly; approximately; round about |
| か | か ka | some (amount); roughly; about |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一緒 | いっしょ issho | (doing) together |
| 一番 | いちばん ichiban | number one; first; first place |
| 一つ | ひとつ hitotsu | one |
| 一般 | いっぱん ippan | general; universal |
| 一部 | いちぶ ichibu | one part; one portion; one section |
| 一方 | いっぽう ippou | one (esp. of two); the other; one way |
| 対応 | たいおう taiou | correspondence (to); equivalence |
| 反応 | はんのう hannou | reaction; response |
See also: Chinese symbol for “roughly”.
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.