King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “yeast”

Romaji: koubo
yeast; leaven

In Japanese, yeast is , read (koubo).

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. n yeast; leaven

Kanji and stroke order

fermentation
on: コウ
14 strokes · JLPT 1
mother
on: ボ
kun: はは、も
5 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “yeast”

WordReadingMeaning
イースト iisutoyeast
じょうぼ jouboleaven; yeast

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
こうそ kousoenzyme
はっこう hakkoufermentation; zymosis
こうそがく kousogakuenzymology
こうぼきん koubokinyeast fungus
はっこうにゅう hakkounyuufermented milk; cultured milk; fermented milk product
ははおや hahaoyamother
おかあさん okaasanmother; mom; mum
そぼ sobograndmother

See also: Chinese symbol for “yeast”.

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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