Japanese symbol for “young”
若い
わかい
Romaji: wakai
young; youthful
In Japanese, young is 若い, read わかい (wakai).
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-i young; youthful
- adj-i immature; green
- adj-i low (number); small
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “young”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 子 | こ ko | young (animal) |
| 小さい | ちいさい chiisai | young; juvenile |
| 年少 | ねんしょう nenshou | young; juvenile |
| ヤング | ヤング yangu | young |
| 青 | あお ao | immature; unripe; young |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 若者 | わかもの wakamono | young person; youngster; young people |
| 若干 | じゃっかん jakkan | some; few; a number of |
| 若手 | わかて wakate | young person |
| 若年 | じゃくねん jakunen | youth |
| 若葉 | わかば wakaba | new leaves; young leaves; fresh verdure |
See also: Chinese symbol for “young”.
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.