King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “doctor”

Romaji: ishi
doctor; physician

In Japanese, doctor is , read (ishi).

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

  1. n doctor; physician

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

doctor, medicine
on: イ
kun: い.やす、い.する、くすし
7 strokes · JLPT 3
expert, teacher, master
on: シ
kun: いくさ
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “doctor”

WordReadingMeaning
いしゃ ishadoctor; physician
はく hakudoctor; PhD
はくし hakushidoctor; PhD; Dr.
はかせ hakasedoctor; PhD; Dr.
ドクター dokutaadoctor

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
いりょう iryoumedical treatment; medical care
いしゃ ishadoctor; physician
いがく igakumedicine; medical science
いやくひん iyakuhinmedical and pharmaceutical products; medicinal supplies; drugs
はいしゃ haishadentist
きょうし kyoushiteacher; instructor
こうし koushispeaker; lecturer
りょうし ryoushifisherman

See also: Chinese symbol for “doctor”.

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.