Japanese symbol for “unoccupied”
暇
ひま
Romaji: hima
spare time; free time; leisure
In Japanese, unoccupied is 暇, read ひま (hima).
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 spare time; free time; leisure
- n time (it takes to do something); time required
- n time off; leave; vacation; holiday
- n dismissal; firing; severance; divorce
- adj-na free; not busy; unoccupied; idle
- adj-na slow (business); slack; dull
Written forms: 暇、閑. Readings: ひま、ヒマ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “unoccupied”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 閑散 | かんさん kansan | idle; free; unoccupied |
| ガラガラ | ガラガラ garagara | (almost) empty; (mostly) vacant; bare |
| 用無し | ようなし younashi | having nothing to do; unoccupied; idle |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 休暇 | きゅうか kyuuka | holiday; vacation; day off |
| 余暇 | よか yoka | leisure; leisure time; spare time |
| 暇つぶし | ひまつぶし himatsubushi | killing time; keeping oneself occupied; time killer |
| 寸暇 | すんか sunka | moment's leisure; free minute |
| 暇人 | ひまじん himajin | person with a lot of free time on their hands; person of leisure; idler |
| 暇乞い | いとまごい itomagoi | leave-taking; (saying) goodbye |
See also: Chinese symbol for “unoccupied”.
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.