Japanese symbol for “surrounding”
包囲
ほうい
Romaji: houi
siege; encirclement; envelopment; surrounding
In Japanese, surrounding is 包囲, read ほうい (houi).
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, vs, vt siege; encirclement; envelopment; surrounding; besiegement
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “surrounding”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 囲繞 | いじょう ijou | surrounding; enclosure |
| ぐるっと | ぐるっと gurutto | surrounding; encircling |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 包丁 | ほうちょう houchou | kitchen knife |
| 包装 | ほうそう housou | packing; wrapping |
| 包む | つつむ tsutsumu | to wrap up; to pack; to bundle |
| 包み | つつみ tsutsumi | bundle; package; parcel |
| 包括 | ほうかつ houkatsu | inclusion; complete coverage; comprehensiveness |
| 雰囲気 | ふんいき fun'iki | atmosphere; mood; ambience |
| 範囲 | はんい han'i | extent; scope; sphere |
| 周囲 | しゅうい shuui | surroundings; environs |
See also: Chinese symbol for “surrounding”.
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.