Japanese symbol for “athlete”
選手
せんしゅ
Romaji: senshu
player (of a sport); athlete; team member
In Japanese, athlete is 選手, read せんしゅ (senshu).
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 player (of a sport); athlete; team member
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “athlete”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| アスリート | アスリート asuriito | athlete |
| 運動選手 | うんどうせんしゅ undousenshu | athlete |
| スポーツ選手 | スポーツせんしゅ supootsusenshu | athlete |
| 競技者 | きょうぎしゃ kyougisha | competitor; contestant; player |
| 体育家 | たいいくか taiikuka | physical culturist; athlete |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 選挙 | せんきょ senkyo | election |
| 選択 | せんたく sentaku | choice; selection; option |
| 選ぶ | えらぶ erabu | to choose; to select; to pick (out) |
| 当選 | とうせん tousen | being elected |
| 予選 | よせん yosen | preliminary contest; qualifying round; trial |
| 相手 | あいて aite | companion; partner; company |
| 手段 | しゅだん shudan | means; way; method |
| 手術 | しゅじゅつ shujutsu | surgery; operation; procedure |
See also: Chinese symbol for “athlete”.
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.