Japanese symbol for “smile”
笑顔
えがお
Romaji: egao
smiling face; smile
In Japanese, smile is 笑顔, read えがお (egao).
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 smiling face; smile
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “smile”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 微笑 | びしょう bishou | smile |
| 笑み | えみ emi | smile |
| 笑い | わらい warai | smile |
| 笑う | わらう warau | to smile |
| スマイル | スマイル sumairu | smile |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 笑い | わらい warai | laugh; laughter |
| 笑う | わらう warau | to laugh |
| 微笑 | びしょう bishou | smile |
| 笑い声 | わらいごえ waraigoe | (sound of) laughter; laughing voice |
| 苦笑 | くしょう kushou | bitter smile; wry smile; strained laugh |
| 顔ぶれ | かおぶれ kaobure | personnel; members; lineup (of a team) |
| 素顔 | すがお sugao | face with no make-up; unpainted face |
| 顔色 | かおいろ kaoiro | complexion; skin tone; skin colour |
See also: Chinese symbol for “smile”.
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.