Japanese symbol for “throbbing”
鼓動
こどう
Romaji: kodou
beat; palpitation; pulsation; throbbing
In Japanese, throbbing is 鼓動, read こどう (kodou).
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, vi, vs beat; palpitation; pulsation; throbbing
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “throbbing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ずきん | ずきん zukin | throbbing (pain); pounding |
| ときめき | ときめき tokimeki | beating (of the heart, with joy, excitement, etc.); palpitation; throbbing |
| ガンガン | ガンガン gangan | throbbing (headache); pounding; splitting |
| 動悸 | どうき douki | palpitation (of the heart); pounding; throbbing |
| ビンビン | ビンビン binbin | hard (e.g. penis); strong (e.g. beat of music); throbbing (e.g. headache) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 太鼓 | たいこ taiko | drum |
| 鼓舞 | こぶ kobu | encouragement; inspiration; rousing |
| 鼓膜 | こまく komaku | eardrum; tympanic membrane |
| 太鼓判 | たいこばん taikoban | large seal; large stamp |
| 舌鼓 | したつづみ shitatsuzumi | smacking one's lips (over food) |
| 活動 | かつどう katsudou | activity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; operation |
| 行動 | こうどう koudou | action; conduct; behaviour |
| 運動 | うんどう undou | exercise; physical training; workout |
See also: Chinese symbol for “throbbing”.
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.