Japanese symbol for “tame”
大人しい
おとなしい
Romaji: otonashii
gentle; quiet; mild; meek
In Japanese, tame is 大人しい, read おとなしい (otonashii).
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
- adj-i gentle; quiet; mild; meek; obedient; docile
- adj-i quiet (color, pattern, etc.); sober
Written forms: 大人しい、温和しい、温柔しい. Readings: おとなしい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tame”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 尋常 | じんじょう jinjou | frank; open; tame |
| 慣らす | ならす narasu | to tame; to domesticate; to train (an animal) |
| 不甲斐ない | ふがいない fugainai | good-for-nothing; spineless; gutless |
| 唯々 | いい ii | obedient; submissive; tame |
| 飼いならす | かいならす kainarasu | to tame (an animal); to domesticate |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大丈夫 | だいじょうぶ daijoubu | safe; secure; sound |
| 大変 | たいへん taihen | very; greatly; terribly |
| 大学 | だいがく daigaku | university; college |
| 最大 | さいだい saidai | biggest; greatest; largest |
| 大会 | たいかい taikai | mass meeting; convention; rally |
| 大統領 | だいとうりょう daitouryou | president (of a country) |
| 人間 | にんげん ningen | human being; human; person |
| 個人 | こじん kojin | individual; private person; personal |
See also: Chinese symbol for “tame”.
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.