Japanese symbol for “tile”
瓦
かわら
Romaji: kawara
tile (e.g. roof)
In Japanese, tile is 瓦, read かわら (kawara).
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 tile (e.g. roof)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tile”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| タイル | タイル tairu | tile |
| 牌 | パイ pai | tile |
| 牌 | はい hai | tile (mahjong, dominos, etc.) |
| 葺く | ふく fuku | to roof (a house with some material); to thatch; to shingle |
| タイルを貼る | タイルをはる tairuoharu | to tile (floor, wall, etc.) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 瓦礫 | がれき gareki | rubble; debris; wreckage |
| 瓦斯 | ガス gasu | gas (as a fuel) |
| 瓦解 | がかい gakai | collapse; downfall |
| 煉瓦 | れんが renga | brick |
| 青瓦台 | せいがだい seigadai | Blue House (official residence of the president of South Korea); Cheong Wa Dae |
| 鬼瓦 | おにがわら onigawara | decorative ridge-end tile (traditionally bearing the face of a demon and resembling a gargoyle) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “tile”.
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.