Japanese symbol for “defense”
防衛
ぼうえい
Romaji: bouei
defense; defence; protection
In Japanese, defense is 防衛, read ぼうえい (bouei).
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, vs, vt defense; defence; protection
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “defense”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 防御 | ぼうぎょ bougyo | defense; defence; safeguard |
| 守備 | しゅび shubi | defense; defence |
| 弁護 | べんご bengo | defense; defence; pleading |
| 警備 | けいび keibi | defense; defence; guard |
| 答弁 | とうべん touben | response; reply; answer |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 防止 | ぼうし boushi | prevention; check |
| 予防 | よぼう yobou | prevention; protection (against); precaution |
| 防御 | ぼうぎょ bougyo | defense; defence; safeguard |
| 防災 | ぼうさい bousai | disaster preparedness; prevention of damage resulting from a natural disaster; protection against disaster |
| 消防 | しょうぼう shoubou | fire fighting |
| 自衛隊 | じえいたい jieitai | Japan Self-Defense Forces; JSDF |
| 衛星 | えいせい eisei | (natural) satellite; moon |
| 衛生 | えいせい eisei | hygiene; sanitation; cleanliness |
See also: Chinese symbol for “defense”.
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.