King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “spell”

Romaji: mahou
magic; witchcraft; sorcery; spell

In Japanese, spell is , read (mahou).

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

  1. adj-no, n magic; witchcraft; sorcery; spell

Kanji and stroke order

witch, demon, evil spirit
on: マ
21 strokes · JLPT 1
method, law, rule
on: ホウ、ハッ、ホッ、フラン
kun: のり
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “spell”

WordReadingMeaning
じゅもん jumonspell; charm; incantation
つづる tsuzuruto spell
まりょく maryokumagical powers; supernatural powers; spell
じゅばく jubakuspell (that restricts one's movements); binding spell
つづき tsuzukisuccession (of); sequence; series

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
あくま akumadevil; demon; fiend
じゃま jamahindrance; obstacle; nuisance
まじゅつ majutsumagic; sorcery; witchcraft
まほうつかい mahoutsukaimagician; wizard; sorcerer
まじょ majowitch
ほうほう houhoumethod; way; manner
ほうりつ houritsulaw; legislation; act
ほうじん houjincorporation; corporate body; company

See also: Chinese symbol for “spell”.

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.

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