Japanese symbol for “towing”
曳航
えいこう
Romaji: eikou
towing (a ship)
In Japanese, towing is 曳航, read えいこう (eikou).
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, vs, vt towing (a ship)
Written forms: 曳航、えい航. Readings: えいこう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “towing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 牽引 | けんいん ken'in | traction; towing; hauling |
| レッカー | レッカー rekkaa | towing (a vehicle) |
| 引航 | いんこう inkou | tugging; towing |
| 曳船 | えいせん eisen | tugging (a boat); towing; towage |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 曳山 | ひきやま hikiyama | festival float |
| 曳家 | ひきや hikiya | building relocation (without disassembly); house relocation |
| 曳船 | えいせん eisen | tugboat; tug; towboat |
| 曳光弾 | えいこうだん eikoudan | tracer bullet; star shell; flare bomb |
| 曳網 | ひきあみ hikiami | dragnet; seine |
| 航空 | こうくう koukuu | aviation; flying |
| 航空機 | こうくうき koukuuki | aircraft |
| 航海 | こうかい koukai | (sea) voyage; navigation; sailing |
See also: Chinese symbol for “towing”.
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.