Japanese symbol for “bird”
鳥
とり
Romaji: tori
bird
In Japanese, bird is 鳥, read とり (tori).
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 bird
- n bird meat (esp. chicken meat); fowl; poultry
Written forms: 鳥、鶏、禽. Readings: とり、トリ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “bird”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 酉 | とり tori | the Rooster (tenth sign of the Chinese zodiac); the Cock; the Chicken |
| バード | バード baado | bird |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 白鳥 | はくちょう hakuchou | swan (Cygnus spp.) |
| 小鳥 | ことり kotori | small bird; little bird |
| 鳥居 | とりい torii | torii (Shinto shrine archway) |
| 焼き鳥 | やきとり yakitori | yakitori; chicken pieces (or sometimes beef or pork offal) grilled on a skewer |
| 野鳥 | やちょう yachou | wild bird |
| 鳥類 | ちょうるい chourui | birds |
See also: Chinese symbol for “bird”.
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.