King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “education”

Romaji: kyouiku
education; schooling; training; instruction

In Japanese, education is , read (kyouiku).

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, vs, vt education; schooling; training; instruction; teaching; upbringing
  2. n culture; cultivation; education

Kanji and stroke order

teach, faith, doctrine
on: キョウ
kun: おし.える、おそ.わる
11 strokes · JLPT 3
bring up, grow up, raise
on: イク
kun: そだ.つ、そだ.ち、そだ.てる、はぐく.む
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “education”

WordReadingMeaning
きょうよう kyouyou(understanding or appreciation of) culture; (one's) education; cultivation
ようせい youseitraining; education; development
がく gakulearning; scholarship; study
がくもん gakumonstudy; scholarship; learning
ぶんきょう bunkyoueducation; culture

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
おしえ oshieteaching; instruction; teachings
きょうじゅ kyoujuprofessor
きょうし kyoushiteacher; instructor
しゅうきょう shuukyoureligion; religious affiliation; belief
きょうしつ kyoushitsuclassroom; lecture room
たいいく taiikuphysical education; PE; gym (class)
しいく shiikubreeding; raising; rearing
いくじ ikujichildcare; child-rearing; nursing

See also: Chinese symbol for “education”.

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.