Japanese symbol for “wishes”

抱負

ほうふ

Romaji: houfu

aspiration; ambition; plan; hopes

In Japanese, wishes is 抱負, read ほうふ (houfu).

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 aspiration; ambition; plan; hopes; wishes

Kanji and stroke order

抱

embrace, hug, hold in arms

on: ホウ
kun: だ.く、いだ.く、かか.える

8 strokes · JLPT 2

負

defeat, negative, -

on: フ
kun: ま.ける、ま.かす、お.う

9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “wishes”

Word	Reading	Meaning
旨	むね mune	instructions; orders; intention

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
抱える	かかえる kakaeru	to hold in one's arms; to carry in one's arms; to carry under one's arm
抱え	かかえ kakae	armful
辛抱	しんぼう shinbou	patience; endurance; perseverance
抱擁	ほうよう houyou	embrace; hug; holding in one's arms
抱き合う	だきあう dakiau	to embrace each other
負け	まけ make	defeat; loss; losing (a game)
負担	ふたん futan	burden; load; responsibility
勝負	しょうぶ shoubu	victory or defeat

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.