Japanese symbol for “sundial”

日時計

ひどけい

Romaji: hidokei

sundial

In Japanese, sundial is 日時計, read ひどけい (hidokei).

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 sundial

Kanji and stroke order

日

day, sun, Japan

on: ニチ、ジツ
kun: ひ、-び、-か

4 strokes · JLPT 4

時

time, hour

on: ジ
kun: とき、-どき

10 strokes · JLPT 4

計

plot, plan, scheme

on: ケイ
kun: はか.る、はか.らう

9 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
今日	きょう kyou	today; this day
日本	にほん nihon	Japan
毎日	まいにち mainichi	every day; daily
明日	あした ashita	tomorrow
昨日	きのう kinou	yesterday
日常	にちじょう nichijou	everyday; daily; ordinary
時間	じかん jikan	time
時代	じだい jidai	period; epoch; era
計画	けいかく keikaku	plan; project; schedule

See also: Chinese symbol for “sundial”.

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.