Japanese symbol for “compass”
羅針盤
らしんばん
Romaji: rashinban
compass
In Japanese, compass is 羅針盤, read らしんばん (rashinban).
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 compass
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “compass”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| コンパス | コンパス konpasu | compass (for drawing circles, etc.); pair of compasses |
| 磁石 | じしゃく jishaku | compass |
| 音域 | おんいき on'iki | range (of a voice or instrument); register; compass |
| 羅針儀 | らしんぎ rashingi | compass |
| 方位磁石 | ほういじしゃく houijishaku | compass |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 網羅 | もうら moura | encompassing; covering (exhaustively); including (all of) |
| 羅列 | られつ raretsu | enumeration; citation; listing |
| 修羅場 | しゅらば shuraba | fighting scene; scene of carnage (bloodshed) |
| 甲羅 | こうら koura | shell (of a crab, tortoise, etc.); carapace; plastron |
| 修羅 | しゅら shura | Asura; demigod; anti-god |
| 方針 | ほうしん houshin | policy; course; plan (of action) |
| 指針 | ししん shishin | needle (compass, gauge, etc.); hand (clock); indicator |
| 針金 | はりがね harigane | wire |
| 基盤 | きばん kiban | base; basis; foundation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “compass”.
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.