Japanese symbol for “best”
最高
さいこう
Romaji: saikou
best; supreme; wonderful; finest
In Japanese, best is 最高, read さいこう (saikou).
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-na, adj-no, n best; supreme; wonderful; finest
- adj-na, adj-no, n highest; maximum; most; uppermost; supreme
Written forms: 最高. Readings: さいこう、サイコー.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “best”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 絶好 | ぜっこう zekkou | best; ideal; perfect |
| 一番 | いちばん ichiban | best; most |
| 最適 | さいてき saiteki | most suitable; optimum; optimal |
| 花 | はな hana | (the) best |
| ベスト | ベスト besuto | best |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 最近 | さいきん saikin | recently; lately; these days |
| 最後 | さいご saigo | end; conclusion |
| 最初 | さいしょ saisho | beginning; outset; first |
| 最終 | さいしゅう saishuu | last; final; closing |
| 最大 | さいだい saidai | biggest; greatest; largest |
| 高い | たかい takai | high; tall |
| 高校 | こうこう koukou | senior high school; high school |
| 高校生 | こうこうせい koukousei | senior high school student |
See also: Chinese symbol for “best”.
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.