King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “buddy”

Romaji: shin'yuu
close friend; bosom friend; buddy; crony

In Japanese, buddy is , read (shin'yuu).

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

  1. n close friend; bosom friend; buddy; crony; chum

Kanji and stroke order

parent, intimacy, relative
on: シン
kun: おや、おや-、した.しい、した.しむ
16 strokes · JLPT 3
friend
on: ユウ
kun: とも
4 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “buddy”

WordReadingMeaning
やろう yarouguy; fellow; chap
きみ kimiyou; buddy; pal
だいとうりょう daitouryoubig man; boss; buddy
バディ badibuddy; partner
にいさん niisanyoung man; buddy; fella

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ははおや hahaoyamother
ちちおや chichioyafather
りょうしん ryoushinparents; both parents
おやこ oyakoparent and child
しんぞく shinzokurelative; relation; kin
ともだち tomodachifriend; companion
ゆうじん yuujinfriend
ゆうじょう yuujoufriendship; fellowship; camaraderie

See also: Chinese symbol for “buddy”.

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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