King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “unravel”

Romaji: hodoku
to undo; to untie; to unfasten; to unlace

In Japanese, unravel is , read (hodoku).

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. v5k, vt to undo; to untie; to unfasten; to unlace; to unravel; to loosen

Kanji and stroke order

unravel, notes, key
on: カイ、ゲ
kun: と.く、と.かす、と.ける、ほど.く
13 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “unravel”

WordReadingMeaning
ほどける hodokeruto come loose; to come untied; to come undone
ときほぐす tokihogusuto disentangle; to untangle; to unravel
ほぐす hogusuto disentangle; to untangle; to unravel
ほつす hotsusuto disentangle; to untangle; to unravel
とかす tokasuto comb out; to brush; to untangle

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
りかい rikaiunderstanding; comprehension; appreciation
かいけつ kaiketsusettlement; solution; resolution
かいせつ kaisetsuexplanation; commentary; exposition
かいさん kaisanbreaking up (a meeting, gathering, etc.); dispersal (e.g. of a crowd)
かいほう kaihourelease; unleashing; liberation
かいじょ kaijotermination (of a contract); cancellation; rescinding

See also: Chinese symbol for “unravel”.

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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