Japanese symbol for “contraction”
縮小
しゅくしょう
Romaji: shukushou
reduction; curtailment; cut; cutback
In Japanese, contraction is 縮小, read しゅくしょう (shukushou).
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 reduction; curtailment; cut; cutback; scaling down; contraction
Written forms: 縮小、縮少. Readings: しゅくしょう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “contraction”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 短縮 | たんしゅく tanshuku | shortening; contraction; reduction |
| 収縮 | しゅうしゅく shuushuku | contraction; shrinking; shrinkage |
| 約 | やく yaku | contraction (in phonetics) |
| 絞り | しぼり shibori | contraction; squeezing; choke |
| 緊縮 | きんしゅく kinshuku | tightening; shrinkage; contraction |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 短縮 | たんしゅく tanshuku | shortening; contraction; reduction |
| 圧縮 | あっしゅく asshuku | compression |
| 濃縮 | のうしゅく noushuku | concentration (e.g. of a solution); enrichment; condensation |
| 萎縮 | いしゅく ishuku | withering; shrivelling; shrinking |
| 恐縮 | きょうしゅく kyoushuku | feeling (much) obliged; being (very) grateful; being thankful |
| 小説 | しょうせつ shousetsu | novel; story; (work of) fiction |
| 小学校 | しょうがっこう shougakkou | primary school; elementary school; grade school |
| 小学生 | しょうがくせい shougakusei | elementary school student; primary school student; grade school student |
See also: Chinese symbol for “contraction”.
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.
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