Japanese symbol for “contagious”

伝染性

でんせんせい

Romaji: densensei

infectious; contagious

In Japanese, contagious is 伝染性, read でんせんせい (densensei).

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

adj-no, n infectious; contagious (med)

Kanji and stroke order

伝

transmit, go along, walk along

on: デン、テン
kun: つた.わる、つた.える、つた.う、つだ.う

6 strokes · JLPT 2

染

dye, color, paint

on: セン
kun: そ.める、そ.まる、し.みる、し.み

9 strokes · JLPT 1

性

sex, gender, nature

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: さが

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
伝統	でんとう dentou	tradition; convention
宣伝	せんでん senden	publicity; advertisement; advertising
伝説	でんせつ densetsu	legend; folklore; tradition
手伝い	てつだい tetsudai	helper; assistant
遺伝	いでん iden	heredity; (genetic) inheritance
遺伝子	いでんし idenshi	gene
感染	かんせん kansen	infection; contagion; becoming infected
汚染	おせん osen	pollution; contamination
女性	じょせい josei	woman; female

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.