Japanese symbol for “clearinghouse”

交換所

こうかんじょ

Romaji: koukanjo

clearing house; clearinghouse

In Japanese, clearinghouse is 交換所, read こうかんじょ (koukanjo).

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 clearing house; clearinghouse
n (currency) exchange; bureau de change

Kanji and stroke order

交

mingle, mixing, association

on: コウ
kun: まじ.わる、まじ.える、ま.じる、まじ.る

6 strokes · JLPT 2

換

interchange, period, change

on: カン
kun: か.える、-か.える、か.わる

12 strokes · JLPT 2

所

place, extent

on: ショ
kun: ところ、-ところ、どころ、とこ

8 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
交換	こうかん koukan	exchange; interchange; switching
交通	こうつう koutsuu	traffic; transportation
交渉	こうしょう koushou	negotiations; bargaining; discussions
交流	こうりゅう kouryuu	exchange (e.g. cultural); interchange; interaction
外交	がいこう gaikou	diplomacy
交代	こうたい koutai	change; alternation; rotation
乗り換え	のりかえ norikae	transfer (trains, buses, etc.); change; connection
変換	へんかん henkan	change; conversion; transformation
場所	ばしょ basho	place; location; spot

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.