Japanese symbol for “cornerstone”
礎
いしずえ
Romaji: ishizue
foundation stone; cornerstone
In Japanese, cornerstone is 礎, read いしずえ (ishizue).
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 foundation stone; cornerstone
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cornerstone”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 要 | かなめ kaname | vital point; cornerstone; keystone |
| 礎石 | そせき soseki | foundation stone; cornerstone |
| 柱石 | ちゅうせき chuuseki | pillar; cornerstone |
| 基石 | きせき kiseki | cornerstone; foundation stone |
| 土台石 | どだいいし dodaiishi | cornerstone; foundation stone |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 基礎 | きそ kiso | foundation; basis |
| 礎石 | そせき soseki | foundation stone; cornerstone |
| 定礎 | ていそ teiso | laying a cornerstone (foundation stone) |
| 基礎控除 | きそこうじょ kisokoujo | basic or standard deduction |
| 基礎研究 | きそけんきゅう kisokenkyuu | basic research |
| 基礎工事 | きそこうじ kisokouji | foundation works |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cornerstone”.
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.