King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “companion”

Romaji: aite
companion; partner; company

In Japanese, companion is , read (aite).

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

  1. n companion; partner; company
  2. n other party; addressee; counterparty
  3. n opponent (sports, etc.)

Kanji and stroke order

inter-, mutual, together
on: ソウ、ショウ
kun: あい-
9 strokes · JLPT 2
hand
on: シュ、ズ
kun: て、て-、-て、た-
4 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “companion”

WordReadingMeaning
なかま nakamacompanion; fellow; friend
ともだち tomodachifriend; companion
つれ tsurecompanion; company
どうし doushifellow; mutual; companion
とも tomofriend; companion; comrade

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
そうだん soudanconsultation; discussion; discussing
そうとう soutoucorresponding to (in meaning, function, etc.); being equivalent to
しゅしょう shushouprime minister; chancellor (Germany, Austria, etc.); premier
そうご sougomutual; reciprocal
すもう sumousumo (wrestling)
せんしゅ senshuplayer (of a sport); athlete; team member
しゅだん shudanmeans; way; method
しゅじゅつ shujutsusurgery; operation; procedure

See also: Chinese symbol for “companion”.

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.