Japanese symbol for “cardinal”
枢機卿
すうききょう
Romaji: suukikyou
cardinal (Catholic Church)
In Japanese, cardinal is 枢機卿, read すうききょう (suukikyou).
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 cardinal (Catholic Church) (Christn)
Written forms: 枢機卿. Readings: すうききょう、すうきけい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cardinal”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| カーディナル | カーディナル kaadinaru | cardinal (Catholic prelate) |
| 枢要 | すうよう suuyou | (most) important; principal; pivotal |
| 紅冠鳥 | こうかんちょう koukanchou | cardinal (bird) (Cardinalis cardinalis) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中枢 | ちゅうすう chuusuu | centre; center; pivot |
| 枢軸 | すうじく suujiku | axle; pivot |
| 枢密院 | すうみついん suumitsuin | Privy Council (abolished in 1947) |
| 枢要 | すうよう suuyou | (most) important; principal; pivotal |
| 中枢神経 | ちゅうすうしんけい chuusuushinkei | central nerves |
| 機能 | きのう kinou | function; facility; faculty |
| 機関 | きかん kikan | engine |
| 機会 | きかい kikai | chance; opportunity; occasion |
| 公卿 | くぎょう kugyou | high-ranking court noble; senior court official; kugyō |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cardinal”.
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.