Japanese symbol for “somehow”
何だか
なんだか
Romaji: nandaka
(a) little; somewhat; somehow
In Japanese, somehow is 何だか, read なんだか (nandaka).
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 (a) little; somewhat; somehow
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “somehow”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 何とか | なんとか nantoka | somehow (handling, dealing with something); anyhow; one way or another |
| 何故か | なぜか nazeka | somehow; for some reason; without knowing why |
| 何となく | なんとなく nantonaku | somehow; for some reason (or other); without knowing why |
| 物 | もの mono | somehow; somewhat; for some reason |
| 気 | け ke | somehow; for some reason; seeming to be |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 何とか | なんとか nantoka | something; something or other; so-and-so |
| 何で | なんで nande | why?; what for? |
| 何より | なにより naniyori | above anything else; above all; more than anything |
| 何とも | なんとも nantomo | really; very; extremely |
| 何事 | なにごと nanigoto | what; what sort of thing |
| 何と | なんと nanto | what; how |
See also: Chinese symbol for “somehow”.
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.