King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “cusp”

Romaji: sentan
pointed end; tip; point; cusp (of a leaf, crescent moon, etc.)

In Japanese, cusp is , read (sentan).

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

  1. n pointed end; tip; point; cusp (of a leaf, crescent moon, etc.); apex (of a curve)
  2. n forefront; vanguard; spearhead; leading edge

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

before, ahead, previous
on: セン
kun: さき、ま.ず
6 strokes · JLPT 4
edge, origin, end
on: タン
kun: はし、は、はた、-ばた
14 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “cusp”

WordReadingMeaning
こうとう koutoucusp (of a tooth)
いばら ibaracusp
せんてん sentencusp
せんとう sentoupointed end; point; cusp

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
せんせい senseiteacher; instructor; master
ゆうせん yuusenpreference; priority; precedence
せんぱい senpaisenior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder
せんじつ senjitsuthe other day; a few days ago
せんしゅう senshuulast week; the week before
せんげつ sengetsulast month
きょくたん kyokutanextreme; extremity
はんぱ hanparemnant; fragment; incomplete set

See also: Chinese symbol for “cusp”.

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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