Japanese symbol for “bc”
紀元前
きげんぜん
Romaji: kigenzen
pre-era; BC; BCE
In Japanese, bc is 紀元前, read きげんぜん (kigenzen).
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
- adv, n pre-era; BC; BCE
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “bc”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ＢＣ | ビー・シー bii・shii | BC; Before Christ |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 世紀 | せいき seiki | century |
| 紀行 | きこう kikou | traveller's journal; traveler's journal; travelogue |
| 紀元 | きげん kigen | era |
| 風紀 | ふうき fuuki | public morals; discipline; rules governing social behavior |
| 綱紀 | こうき kouki | law and order; (official) discipline |
| 元気 | げんき genki | lively; full of spirit; energetic |
| 地元 | じもと jimoto | home area; home town |
| 次元 | じげん jigen | dimension |
| 名前 | なまえ namae | name |
See also: Chinese symbol for “bc”.
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.
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