Japanese symbol for “scarcely”
殆ど
ほとんど
Romaji: hotondo
almost; nearly; mostly; practically
In Japanese, scarcely is 殆ど, read ほとんど (hotondo).
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
- adv almost; nearly; mostly; practically; virtually; basically
- adv hardly; barely; scarcely; little
- adj-no, n large majority; large proportion; greater part; most (of); almost all (of)
Written forms: 殆ど、殆んど、幾ど. Readings: ほとんど.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “scarcely”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| まず無い | まずない mazunai | very rare; very unlikely (to happen); scarcely |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 危殆 | きたい kitai | danger; jeopardy; distress |
| 殆どない | ほとんどない hotondonai | hardly any; almost nonexistent; very little |
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.