Japanese symbol for “counterparty”

相手

あいて

Romaji: aite

companion; partner; company

In Japanese, counterparty is 相手, read あいて (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

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

Kanji and stroke order

相

inter-, mutual, together

on: ソウ、ショウ
kun: あい-

9 strokes · JLPT 2

手

hand

on: シュ、ズ
kun: て、て-、-て、た-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
相談	そうだん soudan	consultation; discussion; discussing
相当	そうとう soutou	corresponding to (in meaning, function, etc.); being equivalent to
首相	しゅしょう shushou	prime minister; chancellor (Germany, Austria, etc.); premier
相互	そうご sougo	mutual; reciprocal
相撲	すもう sumou	sumo (wrestling)
選手	せんしゅ senshu	player (of a sport); athlete; team member
手段	しゅだん shudan	means; way; method
手術	しゅじゅつ shujutsu	surgery; operation; procedure

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.