King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “stimulate”

Romaji: unagasu
to urge; to encourage; to press; to prompt

In Japanese, stimulate is , read (unagasu).

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. v5s, vt to urge; to encourage; to press; to prompt; to draw (attention to)
  2. v5s, vt to stimulate (e.g. growth); to hasten (e.g. development); to quicken; to accelerate; to promote

Kanji and stroke order

stimulate, urge, press
on: ソク
kun: うなが.す
9 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “stimulate”

WordReadingMeaning
たすける tasukeruto facilitate; to stimulate; to promote
すすめる susumeruto raise; to elevate; to promote
そそる sosoruto excite; to incite; to stimulate
ふりおこす furiokosuto stir up; to stimulate
はずみをつける hazumiotsukeruto provide momentum; to give a boost to; to encourage

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
そくしん sokushinpromotion; acceleration; encouragement
さいそく saisokupressing; urging; demanding
とくそく tokusokuurge; demand; importunity
はんそく hansokusales promotion
そくせい sokuseipromotion of growth

See also: Chinese symbol for “stimulate”.

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.