Japanese symbol for “combat”
戦闘
せんとう
Romaji: sentou
battle; fight; combat
In Japanese, combat is 戦闘, read せんとう (sentou).
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, vi, vs battle; fight; combat
Written forms: 戦闘、戰鬪. Readings: せんとう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “combat”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 闘争 | とうそう tousou | fight; battle; combat |
| 実戦 | じっせん jissen | combat; battle; action |
| コンバット | コンバット konbatto | combat |
| 兵馬 | へいば heiba | war; battle; combat |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 戦争 | せんそう sensou | war |
| 戦い | たたかい tatakai | battle; war; fight |
| 作戦 | さくせん sakusen | tactics; strategy |
| 挑戦 | ちょうせん chousen | challenge; defiance; dare |
| 戦後 | せんご sengo | postwar period; period after Second World War |
| 闘争 | とうそう tousou | fight; battle; combat |
| 格闘 | かくとう kakutou | (hand-to-hand) fight; grapple; scuffle |
| 共闘 | きょうとう kyoutou | joint struggle; common (united) front |
See also: Chinese symbol for “combat”.
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.