Japanese symbol for “birth”
誕生
たんじょう
Romaji: tanjou
birth (of a person); nativity
In Japanese, birth is 誕生, read たんじょう (tanjou).
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 birth (of a person); nativity
- n, vi, vs creation; formation; birth; origin; making
- n one's first birthday
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “birth”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 出生 | しゅっしょう shusshou | birth |
| 発生 | はっせい hassei | occurrence; incidence; outbreak |
| 生誕 | せいたん seitan | birth (esp. of a famous person); nativity |
| 出産 | しゅっさん shussan | childbirth; (giving) birth; delivery |
| 生まれ | うまれ umare | birth; birthplace |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 生誕 | せいたん seitan | birth (esp. of a famous person); nativity |
| 爆誕 | ばくたん bakutan | sudden emergence; sudden formation; coming out of nowhere |
| 誕生石 | たんじょうせき tanjouseki | birthstone |
| 降誕 | こうたん koutan | birth (of a saint, monarch, etc.); nativity |
| 聖誕祭 | せいたんさい seitansai | Christmas |
| 生活 | せいかつ seikatsu | life; living |
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor; master |
| 人生 | じんせい jinsei | (one's) life |
See also: Chinese symbol for “birth”.
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.