Japanese symbol for “time”
時
とき
Romaji: toki
time; hour; moment
In Japanese, time is 時, read とき (toki).
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 time; hour; moment
- adv, n occasion; case
- n chance; opportunity; season
- n the times; the age; the day
- n tense (gramm)
Written forms: 時、刻、秋. Readings: とき.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “time”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 時間 | じかん jikan | time |
| 時期 | じき jiki | time; season; period |
| 時刻 | じこく jikoku | time; (the) hour |
| 手間 | てま tema | time; labour; labor |
| 頃 | ころ koro | (approximate) time; around; about |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 時間 | じかん jikan | time |
| 時代 | じだい jidai | period; epoch; era |
| 時期 | じき jiki | time; season; period |
| 当時 | とうじ touji | at that time; in those days |
| 一時 | いちじ ichiji | one o'clock |
| 同時 | どうじ douji | same time |
See also: Chinese symbol for “time”.
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.