Japanese symbol for “dirk”
短刀
たんとう
Romaji: tantou
short sword; knife; dagger; dirk
In Japanese, dirk is 短刀, read たんとう (tantou).
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 short sword; knife; dagger; dirk; tantō
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “dirk”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| どす | どす dosu | dagger; dirk; knife |
| 匕首 | あいくち aikuchi | dagger; dirk |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 短期 | たんき tanki | short-term |
| 短縮 | たんしゅく tanshuku | shortening; contraction; reduction |
| 短い | みじかい mijikai | short |
| 短歌 | たんか tanka | tanka; 31-mora Japanese poem |
| 短大 | たんだい tandai | junior college; vocationally oriented post-secondary institution offering two or three-year programs |
| 短期間 | たんきかん tankikan | short term; short time |
| 刀剣 | とうけん touken | sword; dagger; knife |
| 太刀 | たち tachi | long sword (as opposed to the shorter katana) |
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.