King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “unknown”

Romaji: fumei
unclear; obscure; indistinct; uncertain

In Japanese, unknown is , read (fumei).

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

  1. adj-na, n unclear; obscure; indistinct; uncertain; ambiguous
  2. adj-no, suf unknown; unidentified
  3. n ignorance; lack of wisdom; lack of insight

Kanji and stroke order

negative, non-, bad
on: フ、ブ
4 strokes · JLPT 3
bright, light
on: メイ、ミョウ、ミン
kun: あ.かり、あか.るい、あか.るむ、あか.らむ
8 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “unknown”

WordReadingMeaning
げん genunknown (e.g. in an equation)
みち michinot yet known; unknown; strange
ふしょう fushouunknown; unidentified; unspecified
みちすう michisuu(an) unknown; unknown number; variable
みしらぬ mishiranustrange; unfamiliar; unknown

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ふあん fuananxiety; uneasiness; worry
ふそく fusokuinsufficiency; deficiency; shortage
ふまん fumandissatisfaction; discontent; displeasure
ふかのう fukanouimpossible
ふしぎ fushigiwonderful; marvelous; strange
せつめい setsumeiexplanation; exposition; description
あした ashitatomorrow
あきらか akirakaclear; obvious; evident

See also: Chinese symbol for “unknown”.

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.

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