King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “text”

Romaji: honbun
text (of a book, document, etc.); body (of a letter)

In Japanese, text is , read (honbun).

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. n text (of a book, document, etc.); body (of a letter)
  2. n this passage; this sentence

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

book, present, main
on: ホン
kun: もと
5 strokes · JLPT 4
sentence, literature, style
on: ブン、モン
kun: ふみ、あや
4 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “text”

WordReadingMeaning
じょうぶん joubuntext (of a law, treaty, contract, etc.); provisions
テキスト tekisutotext
ぶん buncomposition; text; writings
メール meerumessage (in an instant messaging application); instant message; IM
しゅぶん shubuntext (of a judicial decision)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
にほん nihonJapan
きほん kihonbasics; fundamentals; basis
ほんとう hontoutruth; reality; actuality
ほんにん honninthe person in question; the person themselves; said person
ほんらい honraioriginally; primarily
ほんき honkiseriousness; earnestness; truth
ぶんか bunkaculture; civilization; civilisation
もじ mojiletter (of an alphabet); character

See also: Chinese symbol for “text”.

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.

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