King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “archetype”

Romaji: tenkei
type; pattern; model; epitome

In Japanese, archetype is , read (tenkei).

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

  1. n type; pattern; model; epitome; exemplar; archetype

Kanji and stroke order

code, ceremony, law
on: テン、デン
kun: ふみ、のり
8 strokes · JLPT 1
mould, type, model
on: ケイ
kun: かた、-がた
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “archetype”

WordReadingMeaning
げんけい genkeimodel; prototype; archetype
アーキタイプ aakitaipuarchetype
そけい sokeiarchetype; prototype
げんけい genkeiarchetype (in Jungian theory)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
こてん kotenclassic (work, esp. book); the classics
じてん jitendictionary; lexicon
しゅってん shuttensource (e.g. quotation); authority
とくてん tokutenprivilege; special favor; special favour
しきてん shikitenceremony; rites
おおがた oogatalarge; large-sized; large-scale
たいけい taikeifigure; body shape; build
こがた kogatasmall-sized; small-scale; miniature

See also: Chinese symbol for “archetype”.

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.