Japanese symbol for “centigrade”

摂氏

せっし

Romaji: sesshi

Celsius; centigrade

In Japanese, centigrade is 摂氏, read せっし (sesshi).

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 Celsius; centigrade

Kanji and stroke order

摂

vicarious, surrogate, act in addition to

on: セツ、ショウ
kun: おさ.める、かね.る、と.る

13 strokes · JLPT 1

氏

family name, surname, clan

on: シ
kun: うじ、-うじ

4 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “centigrade”

Word	Reading	Meaning
セ氏	セし seshi	Celsius; centigrade

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
摂取	せっしゅ sesshu	intake (e.g. of salt); ingestion
摂理	せつり setsuri	laws (of nature)
摂る	とる toru	to have (e.g. lunch); to take (e.g. vitamins)
包摂	ほうせつ housetsu	inclusion; encompassing; connotation
摂政	せっしょう sesshou	regency; regent
氏名	しめい shimei	(full) name; identity
彼氏	かれし kareshi	boyfriend
同氏	どうし doushi	the said person; he; she

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.