Japanese symbol for “balloting”

抽選

ちゅうせん

Romaji: chuusen

lottery; raffle; drawing (of lots); balloting

In Japanese, balloting is 抽選, read ちゅうせん (chuusen).

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, vi, vs lottery; raffle; drawing (of lots); balloting

Written forms: 抽選、抽籤、抽せん. Readings: ちゅうせん.

Kanji and stroke order

抽

pluck, pull, extract

on: チュウ
kun: ひき-

8 strokes · JLPT 1

選

elect, select, choose

on: セン
kun: えら.ぶ、え.る、よ.る

15 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
抽出	ちゅうしゅつ chuushutsu	extraction; abstraction
抽象	ちゅうしょう chuushou	abstraction
抽象的	ちゅうしょうてき chuushouteki	abstract
抽象化	ちゅうしょうか chuushouka	abstraction
抽象論	ちゅうしょうろん chuushouron	an abstract argument
選手	せんしゅ senshu	player (of a sport); athlete; team member
選挙	せんきょ senkyo	election
選択	せんたく sentaku	choice; selection; option

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.