Japanese symbol for “dagger”
刀剣
とうけん
Romaji: touken
sword; dagger; knife; bayonet
In Japanese, dagger is 刀剣, read とうけん (touken).
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 sword; dagger; knife; bayonet
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “dagger”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 短刀 | たんとう tantou | short sword; knife; dagger |
| どす | どす dosu | dagger; dirk; knife |
| 懐刀 | ふところがたな futokorogatana | dagger; stiletto |
| ダガー | ダガー dagaa | dagger |
| 短剣 | たんけん tanken | short sword; dagger; stiletto |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 太刀 | たち tachi | long sword (as opposed to the shorter katana) |
| 竹刀 | しない shinai | bamboo sword (for kendo); bamboo fencing stick |
| 太刀打ち | たちうち tachiuchi | crossing swords |
| 短刀 | たんとう tantou | short sword; knife; dagger |
| 小刀 | こがたな kogatana | (small) knife |
| 真剣 | しんけん shinken | serious; earnest |
| 剣道 | けんどう kendou | kendo; Japanese martial art using bamboo swords |
| 剣士 | けんし kenshi | swordsman; swordswoman; fencer |
See also: Chinese symbol for “dagger”.
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.