Japanese symbol for “trembling”
動揺
どうよう
Romaji: douyou
shaking; trembling; pitching; rolling
In Japanese, trembling is 動揺, read どうよう (douyou).
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 shaking; trembling; pitching; rolling; oscillation
- n, vi, vs disturbance; unrest; agitation; excitement; commotion; turmoil
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “trembling”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 身震い | みぶるい miburui | shivering (with cold); trembling (with fear); shuddering |
| 震え | ふるえ furue | shivering; trembling; shuddering |
| ぶるぶる | ぶるぶる buruburu | trembling (with fear, anger, etc.); shivering (with cold); shaking |
| ガクガク | ガクガク gakugaku | trembling (with fear, cold, etc.); shaking; chattering (of teeth) |
| ぷるぷる | ぷるぷる purupuru | trembling; shivering |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 動物 | どうぶつ doubutsu | animal |
| 移動 | いどう idou | movement; transfer; migration |
| 自動 | じどう jidou | automatic |
| 揺るがす | ゆるがす yurugasu | to shake; to swing; to sway |
| 揺る | ゆる yuru | to shake; to jolt; to rock (cradle) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “trembling”.
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.