Japanese symbol for “describing”

名状

めいじょう

Romaji: meijou

description; describing; depicting

In Japanese, describing is 名状, read めいじょう (meijou).

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 description; describing; depicting

Kanji and stroke order

名

name, noted, distinguished

on: メイ、ミョウ
kun: な、-な

6 strokes · JLPT 4

状

status quo, conditions, circumstances

on: ジョウ

7 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
名前	なまえ namae	name
有名	ゆうめい yuumei	famous; well-known
名誉	めいよ meiyo	honor; honour; credit
名称	めいしょう meishou	name; title
署名	しょめい shomei	signature; autograph
本名	ほんみょう honmyou	real name
状態	じょうたい joutai	state; condition; situation
状況	じょうきょう joukyou	state of affairs; situation; conditions

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.