Japanese symbol for “rousing”
鼓舞
こぶ
Romaji: kobu
encouragement; inspiration; rousing; stirring up
In Japanese, rousing is 鼓舞, read こぶ (kobu).
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
- n, vs, vt encouragement; inspiration; rousing; stirring up; raising (e.g. morale)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “rousing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 呼び水 | よびみず yobimizu | pump-priming; rousing; stimulation |
| 鼓吹 | こすい kosui | rousing (courage, morale, etc.); encouragement |
| 勇ましい | いさましい isamashii | stirring; vigorous; rousing |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 太鼓 | たいこ taiko | drum |
| 鼓動 | こどう kodou | beat; palpitation; pulsation |
| 鼓膜 | こまく komaku | eardrum; tympanic membrane |
| 太鼓判 | たいこばん taikoban | large seal; large stamp |
| 舌鼓 | したつづみ shitatsuzumi | smacking one's lips (over food) |
| 舞台 | ぶたい butai | stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.) |
| 歌舞伎 | かぶき kabuki | kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly in white and red |
| 見舞い | みまい mimai | visit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune); call; inquiry (about someone's health) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “rousing”.
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.