Japanese symbol for “thematic”

語幹形成母音

ごかんけいせいぼおん

Romaji: gokankeiseiboon

thematic vowel; thematic

In Japanese, thematic is 語幹形成母音, read ごかんけいせいぼおん (gokankeiseiboon).

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 thematic vowel; thematic (ling)

Kanji and stroke order

語

word, speech, language

on: ゴ
kun: かた.る、かた.らう

14 strokes · JLPT 4

幹

tree trunk, main part, talent

on: カン
kun: みき

13 strokes · JLPT 1

形

shape, form, style

on: ケイ、ギョウ
kun: かた、-がた、かたち、なり

7 strokes · JLPT 2

成

turn into, become, get

on: セイ、ジョウ
kun: な.る、な.す、-な.す

6 strokes · JLPT 2

母

mother

on: ボ
kun: はは、も

5 strokes · JLPT 4

音

sound, noise

on: オン、イン、-ノン
kun: おと、ね

9 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
英語	えいご eigo	English (language)
物語	ものがたり monogatari	story; tale; narrative
言語	げんご gengo	language
語る	かたる kataru	to talk about; to speak of; to tell
日本語	にほんご nihongo	Japanese (language)
用語	ようご yougo	term; terminology
新幹線	しんかんせん shinkansen	Shinkansen; bullet train
幹部	かんぶ kanbu	management; (executive) staff; leaders
形式	けいしき keishiki	form (as opposed to substance)
成功	せいこう seikou	success; achievement
母親	ははおや hahaoya	mother
音楽	おんがく ongaku	music

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.