Japanese symbol for “altar”
祭壇
さいだん
Romaji: saidan
altar
In Japanese, altar is 祭壇, read さいだん (saidan).
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 altar
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “altar”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 供物台 | くもつだい kumotsudai | altar |
| 聖壇 | せいだん seidan | altar |
| 聖卓 | せいたく seitaku | altar (esp. Christian) |
| 神壇 | しんだん shindan | altar |
| 祭壇座 | さいだんざ saidanza | Ara (constellation); the Altar |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 祭り | まつり matsuri | festival; feast; matsuri |
| 祭典 | さいてん saiten | festival |
| 前夜祭 | ぜんやさい zen'yasai | event held the night before another event; eve (of a festival) (e.g. Christmas Eve) |
| 冠婚葬祭 | かんこんそうさい kankonsousai | important ceremonial occasions in family relationships |
| 司祭 | しさい shisai | priest; minister; pastor |
| 花壇 | かだん kadan | flower bed |
| 土壇場 | どたんば dotanba | last moment; eleventh hour |
| 仏壇 | ぶつだん butsudan | Buddhist (household) altar |
See also: Chinese symbol for “altar”.
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.