Japanese symbol for “detective”
刑事
けいじ
Romaji: keiji
(police) detective
In Japanese, detective is 刑事, read けいじ (keiji).
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 (police) detective
- adj-f, n criminal matter
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “detective”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 探偵 | たんてい tantei | detective; investigator; sleuth |
| ディテクティブ | ディテクティブ ditekutibu | detective |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 死刑 | しけい shikei | death penalty; capital punishment |
| 刑務所 | けいむしょ keimusho | prison; jail; gaol |
| 処刑 | しょけい shokei | execution |
| 刑法 | けいほう keihou | criminal law; penal code |
| 実刑 | じっけい jikkei | prison sentence (without a stay of execution) |
| 仕事 | しごと shigoto | work; job; labor |
| 事件 | じけん jiken | event; affair; incident |
| 記事 | きじ kiji | article; news story; report |
See also: Chinese symbol for “detective”.
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.