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Kanji for Flower
The kanji most commonly used for "Flower" are 花、華.
花
Kanji that mean Flower
花 (hana / ka) is the flower — the grass radical 艹 over 化, “to change”: the plant transformed into bloom. It is everywhere Japanese celebrates: 花見 (blossom viewing), 花火 (fireworks — “flower fire”), 花嫁 (a bride — “flower wife”). When Japanese says simply 花, in spring, it means the cherry blossom.
華 (hana / ka) is the same word at a higher register: splendour, brilliance, the flower as glory. 華やか is gorgeous; 中華 is China (“the flowering centre”); 華道 is the formal art of flower arrangement, and a person with 華がある has star quality — presence that blooms. Where 花 is the bloom in the field, 華 is the bloom as radiance.
Specific flowers get their own characters — 桜 (cherry), 菊 (chrysanthemum), 蘭 (orchid), 蓮 (lotus), 菫 (violet) — a garden this dictionary covers page by page.
Words using Flower kanji
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
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花園
はなぞの
flower garden
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中華
ちゅうか
China; Chinese food
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花見
はなみ
cherry blossom viewing; flower viewing
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豪華
ごうか
extravagant; lavish; opulent
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花束
はなたば
bunch of flowers; bouquet
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繁華街
はんかがい
business district; shopping district; bustling street
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花粉
かふん
pollen
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華麗
かれい
splendid; magnificent; gorgeous
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花嫁
はなよめ
bride
Before you use Flower kanji
花 is warm, common and legible — flower, festivity, spring. 華 reads as splendour and is the more glamorous tattoo; it also carries the "star quality" sense, which flatters. Neither has negative readings. If one particular flower is the point, use its own character — 桜, 蓮, 蘭 — rather than the generic bloom.