Japanese symbol for “college”
大学
だいがく
Romaji: daigaku
university; college
In Japanese, college is 大学, read だいがく (daigaku).
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 university; college
- n former imperial university of Japan (established under the ritsuryō system for the training of government administrators)
- n the Great Learning (one of the Four Books)
Written forms: 大学、大學. Readings: だいがく.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “college”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 学部 | がくぶ gakubu | faculty (of a university); school; college |
| カレッジ | カレッジ karejji | college |
| 学寮 | がくりょう gakuryou | college (in UK universities) |
| 学群 | がくぐん gakugun | school (within a university); college; department |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大丈夫 | だいじょうぶ daijoubu | safe; secure; sound |
| 大変 | たいへん taihen | very; greatly; terribly |
| 最大 | さいだい saidai | biggest; greatest; largest |
| 大会 | たいかい taikai | mass meeting; convention; rally |
| 大統領 | だいとうりょう daitouryou | president (of a country) |
| 学校 | がっこう gakkou | school |
| 学生 | がくせい gakusei | student (esp. a university student) |
| 科学 | かがく kagaku | science |
See also: Chinese symbol for “college”.
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.