Japanese symbol for “tumbling”
転倒
てんとう
Romaji: tentou
fall; falling down; tumbling; toppling (over)
In Japanese, tumbling is 転倒, read てんとう (tentou).
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 fall; falling down; tumbling; toppling (over)
- n, vi, vs inversion; reversal; turning upside-down
- n, vi, vs getting upset; losing one's presence of mind
Written forms: 転倒、顛倒. Readings: てんとう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tumbling”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 転び | ころび korobi | falling (down); tumbling (down); falling to the ground |
| タンブリング | タンブリング tanburingu | tumbling |
| ゴロゴロ | ゴロゴロ gorogoro | rolling (of something large and heavy); tumbling |
| どんぶりこ | どんぶりこ donburiko | tumbling |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 運転 | うんてん unten | operation (of a machine); running; working |
| 自転車 | じてんしゃ jitensha | bicycle; bike |
| 回転 | かいてん kaiten | rotation; revolution; turn |
| 移転 | いてん iten | moving; relocation; change of address |
| 逆転 | ぎゃくてん gyakuten | reversal (of a situation); turnaround; turnabout |
| 転換 | てんかん tenkan | conversion; diversion; changeover |
| 面倒 | めんどう mendou | trouble; bother |
| 倒産 | とうさん tousan | (corporate) bankruptcy; insolvency; commercial failure |
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.