Many want to get a tattoo in Japanese or Chinese, but have no idea which ideogram to use or what they mean. For that, we made a list of the main ideograms used in tattoos for you to get inspired.
It's important to that Japanese tattoos can have deep and culturally significant meaning, so it's important to do in-depth research before choosing a word or symbol to get tattooed. Also, it is important to find a reliable and experienced tattoo artist to ensure that the tattoo is correct and well done.
We recommend reading:
- Tattoo and Yakuza
- Japanese Tattoos - What does Japan think about tattoos?
- How do Japanese women face tattoos and piercings?
List of Japanese words for tattoo
Here we share a list of Japanese words with their meanings and their ideogram to be tattooed. You must do a search with CTRL + F to find what you want.
We also recommend placing the ideogram in an image editing application and placing it in the desired font and size, in order to present the photo to the tattoo artist, since we share text and not images in this article.
The list below may include, in addition to ideograms, some Japanese words written in katakana and hiragana.
- 家族 (kazoku) - Family
- 友情 (yuujou) - Friendship
- 力 (chikara) - Force
- 平和 (heiwa) - Peace
- 調和 (chouwa) - Harmony
- 自由 (jiyuu) - Freedom
- 幸福 (koufuku) - Happiness
- 勇気 (yuuki) - Courage
- 正直 (shoujiki) - Honesty
- 忠誠 (chuusei) - Loyalty
- 希望 (kibou) - Hope
- 喜び (yorokobi) - Joy
- 愛 (ai) - Love
- 幸運 (kouun) - Luck
- 尊敬 (sonkei) - Respect
- 知恵 (chie) - Wisdom
- 真実 (shinjitsu) - Truth
- 鼓舞 (kobu) - Inspiration
- 信仰 (shinkou) - Faith
- 仁慈 (niji) - Benevolence
- 感謝 (kansha) - Gratitude
- 許し (yurushi) - Forgiveness
- 善 (zen) - Bondade
- 慈悲 (jihi) - Comion
- 内力 (nairiki) - Inner strength
- 決心 (kesshin) - Determination
- 成功 (seikou) - Success
- 楽観 (rakkan) - Optimism
- 忍耐 (nintai) - Patience
- 長寿 (chouju) - Longevity
- 永遠の幸福 (eien no koufuku) - Eternal happiness
- 永遠 (eien) - Eternity
- 不死 (fushi) - Imortalidade
- 守り (mamori) - Protection
- 成長 (seichou) - Growth
- 変化 (henka) - Transformation
- 再生 (saisei) - Renaissance
- 変わり (kawari) - Change
- 進化 (shinka) - Evolution
- 発展 (hatten) - Development
- 目的 (mokuteki) - Purpose
- 目標 (mokuhyou) - Objective
- 使命 (shimei) - Mission
- ビジョン (bijon) - Vision
- 人生の目的 (jinsei no mokuteki) - Life purpose
- 光 (hikari) - Light
- 鏡 (kagami) - Mirror
- 反省 (hansei) - Reflection
- 自己発見 (jiko hakken) - Self-discovery
- 漢字 (kanji) - Japanese writing system with Chinese ideograms
- 侍 (samurai) - Noble warriors of feudal Japan
- 鯉 (koi) - Popular fish in Japan
- 虎 (tora) - Tiger, symbol of strength
- 鬼 (oni) - Demons or evil spirits
- 陰陽 (yin yang) - Balance of opposing forces
- 桜 (sakura) - Cherry blossom, symbol of beauty
- 般若 (hanya) - Buddhist symbol of wisdom
- 心 (kokoro) - Heart or spirit
- ナマステ (namaste) - Indian greeting
- ありがとう (arigato) - Thank you
- 愛してる (aishiteru) - I love you
