Japanese symbol for “adopter”

養親

ようしん

Romaji: youshin

adopter; adopting parent or parents; adoptive parent or parents; foster parent or parents

In Japanese, adopter is 養親, read ようしん (youshin).

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

n adopter; adopting parent or parents; adoptive parent or parents; foster parent or parents

Kanji and stroke order

養

foster, bring up, rear

on: ヨウ、リョウ
kun: やしな.う

15 strokes · JLPT 1

親

parent, intimacy, relative

on: シン
kun: おや、おや-、した.しい、した.しむ

16 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
栄養	えいよう eiyou	nutrition; nourishment
教養	きょうよう kyouyou	(understanding or appreciation of) culture; (one's) education; cultivation
養成	ようせい yousei	training; education; development
療養	りょうよう ryouyou	recuperation; medical treatment
養子	ようし youshi	adopted child (usu. male); son-in-law
養殖	ようしょく youshoku	aquaculture; culture; cultivation
母親	ははおや hahaoya	mother
父親	ちちおや chichioya	father

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.