Japanese symbol for “udo”

独活

うど

Romaji: udo

udo (plant related to ginseng, used in medicine and cooking) (Aralia cordata)

In Japanese, udo is 独活, read うど (udo).

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 udo (plant related to ginseng, used in medicine and cooking) (Aralia cordata)

Written forms: 独活、獨活. Readings: ウド、うど、どっかつ、つちたら.

Kanji and stroke order

独

single, alone, spontaneously

on: ドク、トク
kun: ひと.り

9 strokes · JLPT 2

活

lively, resuscitation, being helped

on: カツ
kun: い.きる、い.かす、い.ける

9 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
独特	どくとく dokutoku	peculiarity; uniqueness; characteristic
独自	どくじ dokuji	original; unique; distinctive
独立	どくりつ dokuritsu	independence; self-reliance; supporting oneself
独占	どくせん dokusen	monopoly; monopolization; exclusivity
孤独	こどく kodoku	solitude; loneliness; isolation
独身	どくしん dokushin	unmarried; single
生活	せいかつ seikatsu	life; living
活動	かつどう katsudou	activity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; operation

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.