Japanese symbol for “crane”
鶴
つる
Romaji: tsuru
crane (any bird of the family Gruidae, esp. the red-crowned crane, Grus japonensis)
In Japanese, crane is 鶴, read つる (tsuru).
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 crane (any bird of the family Gruidae, esp. the red-crowned crane, Grus japonensis)
Written forms: 鶴. Readings: つる、ツル.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “crane”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| クレーン | クレーン kureen | crane (machine) |
| 田鶴 | たず tazu | crane (bird) |
| 起重機 | きじゅうき kijuuki | crane; derrick |
| クレーン車 | クレーンしゃ kureensha | (mobile) crane |
| 千歳鳥 | ちとせどり chitosedori | crane (bird) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 真鶴 | まなづる manazuru | white-naped crane (Grus vipio) |
| 千羽鶴 | せんばづる senbazuru | (string of) many (traditionally 1000) paper cranes |
| 折り鶴 | おりづる orizuru | paper crane; origami crane |
| 田鶴 | たず tazu | crane (bird) |
| 鶴見大学 | つるみだいがく tsurumidaigaku | Tsurumi University |
| 丹頂鶴 | たんちょうづる tanchouzuru | red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis); Japanese crane |
See also: Chinese symbol for “crane”.
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.