Japanese symbol for “bacterial”

細菌性

さいきんせい

Romaji: saikinsei

bacterial; bacillary

In Japanese, bacterial is 細菌性, read さいきんせい (saikinsei).

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

adj-no, n bacterial; bacillary (med)

Kanji and stroke order

細

dainty, get thin, taper

on: サイ
kun: ほそ.い、ほそ.る、こま.か、こま.かい

11 strokes · JLPT 2

菌

germ, fungus, bacteria

on: キン

11 strokes · JLPT 1

性

sex, gender, nature

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: さが

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
詳細	しょうさい shousai	details; particulars; specifics
細胞	さいぼう saibou	cell
細かい	こまかい komakai	small
細菌	さいきん saikin	bacterium; bacteria; germ
細い	ほそい hosoi	thin; slender; fine
繊細	せんさい sensai	dainty; delicate (e.g. fingers); fine
殺菌	さっきん sakkin	sterilization; sterilisation; disinfection
無菌	むきん mukin	sterilised; sterilized; sterile
女性	じょせい josei	woman; female

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.