Japanese symbol for “et”

地球外生命

ちきゅうがいせいめい

Romaji: chikyuugaiseimei

extraterrestrial life; ET

In Japanese, et is 地球外生命, read ちきゅうがいせいめい (chikyuugaiseimei).

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 extraterrestrial life; ET

Kanji and stroke order

地

ground, earth

on: チ、ジ

6 strokes · JLPT 3

球

ball, sphere

on: キュウ
kun: たま

11 strokes · JLPT 2

外

outside

on: ガイ、ゲ
kun: そと、ほか、はず.す、はず.れる

5 strokes · JLPT 4

生

life, genuine, birth

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: い.きる、い.かす、い.ける、う.まれる

5 strokes · JLPT 4

命

fate, command, decree

on: メイ、ミョウ
kun: いのち

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
地域	ちいき chiiki	area; region; district
地球	ちきゅう chikyuu	Earth; the globe
地方	ちほう chihou	district; region; area
地元	じもと jimoto	home area; home town
地震	じしん jishin	earthquake
土地	とち tochi	plot of land; lot; soil
野球	やきゅう yakyuu	baseball
球団	きゅうだん kyuudan	baseball team
海外	かいがい kaigai	foreign; abroad; overseas
生活	せいかつ seikatsu	life; living
生命	せいめい seimei	life; existence

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.