Japanese symbol for “teacup”
茶碗
ちゃわん
Romaji: chawan
rice bowl; tea cup; teacup
In Japanese, teacup is 茶碗, read ちゃわん (chawan).
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 rice bowl; tea cup; teacup
Written forms: 茶碗、茶わん. Readings: ちゃわん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “teacup”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 湯のみ | ゆのみ yunomi | teacup |
| 茶飲み茶碗 | ちゃのみぢゃわん chanomijawan | teacup |
| 湯飲み茶碗 | ゆのみぢゃわん yunomijawan | teacup (small, without a handle) |
| ティーカップ | ティーカップ tiikappu | teacup |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| お茶 | おちゃ ocha | tea (esp. green or barley) |
| 紅茶 | こうちゃ koucha | black tea |
| 喫茶店 | きっさてん kissaten | coffee shop; tearoom; coffee lounge |
| 茶色 | ちゃいろ chairo | brown; light brown; tawny |
| 抹茶 | まっちゃ matcha | matcha; powdered green tea |
| 茶碗蒸し | ちゃわんむし chawanmushi | chawanmushi; savoury steamed egg custard with chicken, mushrooms, etc. (savory) |
| お碗 | おわん owan | bowl (ceramic, porcelain) |
| 夫婦茶碗 | めおとぢゃわん meotojawan | pair of teacups (or rice bowls) for a married couple (one large and one small); his and hers teacups; his and hers rice bowls |
See also: Chinese symbol for “teacup”.
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.