1 / 3
GA
我
ego · i · selfish
✎ Editor's glossI — oneself
Naruto · Characters · Kanji file 028
Gaara 我愛羅
Pronounced ga·a·ra
Gaara (我愛羅) is an outlier among Naruto names. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi — ordinary Japanese words, every one of them. 我愛羅 is not: no such word exists in Japanese. It is the author's own invention. So when Gaara first appeared, Japanese readers did what we always do — we read the kanji cold, and what they spell is "a shura who loves only himself," a shura (修羅) being a fighting demon of Buddhist lore. And that reading sat strangely against his emotionless face. Where, we wondered, was the love? Volume 15 gives the answer: the name was his mother's. "Love only yourself. Fight only for your own sake. Do that, and you will keep on existing." That wish is what these three characters carry. Every Naruto fan alive cried at that reveal.
The kanji give it away
📖 Databook: Rin no Sho, p. 50 · Tō no Sho, p. 62 · Sha no Sho, p. 60 · Jin no Sho, p. 76
Speed
Breaking down the kanji
Here's what each character means — and how to write it. In Japan, following the correct stroke order is considered the key to writing kanji beautifully. Readings, stroke counts and core meanings below come directly from the KANJIDIC2 dictionary database.
2 / 3
AI
愛
love · affection · favourite
✎ Editor's glossto love, to cherish, to hold dear
3 / 3
RA
羅
gauze · thin silk · rome
✎ Editor's glossto array — and the go-to kanji for transcribing a foreign “ra” sound
What's next
Which term should we write next?
We write in order of demand. Every name and jutsu in the official databooks is listed in our Master Index — find the one you want, and tell us via the Contact page.
Original artwork — free to save
The kanji, on one sheet
A reference card we drew ourselves — the characters in Japanese brush style.
Free to save — terms (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Quick answers
FAQ
What does Gaara’s name mean in Japanese?
我愛羅 — 我 (I, self) + 愛 (love) + 羅 (a phonetic character): “a demon who loves only himself.” No such word exists in Japanese — the kanji were chosen to spell out who he is.
How do you pronounce Gaara?
Say it ga·a·ra (我愛羅). Japanese has no strong word stress: give each syllable about the same length and weight, and keep the vowels short and clear — a as in “father,” i as in “machine,” u as in “food,” e as in “met,” o as in “go.”
What is the kanji on Gaara’s forehead?
愛 — “love,” the middle character of his own name 我愛羅. Volume 15, chapter 131 tells how it got there: Yashamaru, the one person who had taught Gaara what love was, ambushed him — and in the flashback, right after Yashamaru’s suicide blast, the character rises on Gaara’s forehead.
How many strokes is 我愛羅?
39 in total: 我 is 7, 愛 is 13, 羅 is 19.
What characters make up Gaara?
我愛羅 — 我, then 愛, then 羅. Core meanings from the KANJIDIC2 dictionary database: 我 ego · i; 愛 love · affection; 羅 gauze · thin silk.
Can I use the copied kanji anywhere?
Yes — it's standard Unicode text and works on any modern OS. One caution before you print or ink it: make sure the font is a Japanese one. Some fonts render the same characters in Chinese style, and the difference shows.