King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “starting”

Romaji: hossoku
starting; inauguration; launch; founding

In Japanese, starting is , read (hossoku).

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. n, vi, vs starting; inauguration; launch; founding; establishment; start-up

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

departure, discharge, publish
on: ハツ、ホツ
kun: た.つ、あば.く、おこ.る、つか.わす
9 strokes · JLPT 3
leg, foot, be sufficient
on: ソク
kun: あし、た.りる、た.る、た.す
7 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “starting”

WordReadingMeaning
しどう shidoustarting (a machine, engine, etc.)
そうかん soukanfoundation (of a newspaper, magazine, etc.); starting; launching
きどう kidoustartup; booting up; activation
かかり kakaristarting (e.g. of an engine); engaging (e.g. of a lock)
はっしゃ hasshadeparture (of a train, car, etc.); starting; leaving

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
はつばい hatsubaisale; offering for sale; putting on sale
はっぴょう happyouannouncement; publication; presenting
かいはつ kaihatsudevelopment; cultivation; application
はっせい hasseioccurrence; incidence; outbreak
はっけん hakkendiscovery; detection; finding
はつげん hatsugenstatement; remark; observation
まんぞく manzokusatisfaction; contentment; gratification
ふそく fusokuinsufficiency; deficiency; shortage

See also: Chinese symbol for “starting”.

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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