Japanese symbol for “sprouting”
萌え
もえ
Romaji: moe
sprouting; budding; young shoot
In Japanese, sprouting is 萌え, read もえ (moe).
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 sprouting; budding; young shoot
- int, n moe; fascination; infatuation (esp. towards anime and manga characters)
Written forms: 萌え、萌ゑ. Readings: もえ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sprouting”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 発芽 | はつが hatsuga | germination; sprouting; budding |
| 出芽 | しゅつが shutsuga | germination; sprouting |
| 芽出し | めだし medashi | sprouting; sprout |
| 萌動 | ほうどう houdou | sprouting; budding |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 萌芽 | ほうが houga | germination; germ; sprout |
| 萌える | もえる moeru | to burst into bud; to sprout |
| 萌黄 | もえぎ moegi | light yellowish green |
| 萌やし | もやし moyashi | bean sprouts |
| 萌出 | ほうしゅつ houshutsu | eruption (of a tooth) |
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.