Japanese symbol for “buckshot”

散弾

さんだん

Romaji: sandan

shot; buckshot

In Japanese, buckshot is 散弾, read さんだん (sandan).

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 shot; buckshot

Written forms: 散弾、霰弾. Readings: さんだん.

Kanji and stroke order

散

scatter, disperse, spend

on: サン
kun: ち.る、ち.らす、-ち.らす、ち.らかす

12 strokes · JLPT 2

弾

bullet, twang, flip

on: ダン、タン
kun: ひ.く、-ひ.き、はず.む、たま

12 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
解散	かいさん kaisan	breaking up (a meeting, gathering, etc.); dispersal (e.g. of a crowd)
散歩	さんぽ sanpo	walk; stroll
分散	ぶんさん bunsan	dispersion; breakup; scattering
拡散	かくさん kakusan	spreading; disseminating; scattering
散々	さんざん sanzan	thoroughly; completely; utterly
発散	はっさん hassan	emission; emanation; radiation
爆弾	ばくだん bakudan	bomb
弾圧	だんあつ dan'atsu	oppression; suppression; pressure

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.