Japanese symbol for “whimsy”
放漫
ほうまん
Romaji: houman
whimsy; looseness; indiscretion; laxity
In Japanese, whimsy is 放漫, read ほうまん (houman).
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
- adj-na, n whimsy; looseness; indiscretion; laxity
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “whimsy”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 物好き | ものずき monozuki | (idle) curiosity; fancifulness; eccentricity |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 放送 | ほうそう housou | broadcasting; broadcast; program |
| 解放 | かいほう kaihou | release; unleashing; liberation |
| 開放 | かいほう kaihou | opening (a door, window, etc.); leaving open |
| 放題 | ほうだい houdai | (doing) as one pleases; to one's heart's content; letting (something) go unchecked |
| 放棄 | ほうき houki | abandonment; renouncement; renunciation |
| 追放 | ついほう tsuihou | exile; banishment; eviction |
| 漫画 | まんが manga | cartoon; comic; comic strip |
| 漫才 | まんざい manzai | manzai; comic dialogue; two-person comedy act, usu. presented as a fast-paced dialogue, occ. presented as a skit |
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.