Japanese symbol for “expandable”

伸縮自在

しんしゅくじざい

Romaji: shinshukujizai

elastic; flexible; telescoping; expandable

In Japanese, expandable is 伸縮自在, read しんしゅくじざい (shinshukujizai).

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

adj-na, adj-no elastic; flexible; telescoping; expandable; retractable; extensible

Kanji and stroke order

伸

expand, stretch, extend

on: シン
kun: の.びる、の.ばす、の.べる、の.す

7 strokes · JLPT 2

縮

shrink, contract, shrivel

on: シュク
kun: ちぢ.む、ちぢ.まる、ちぢ.める、ちぢ.れる

17 strokes · JLPT 1

自

oneself

on: ジ、シ
kun: みずか.ら、おの.ずから、おの.ずと

6 strokes · JLPT 3

在

exist, outskirts, suburbs

on: ザイ
kun: あ.る

6 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
伸び	のび nobi	growth; development
伸びる	のびる nobiru	to stretch; to extend; to lengthen
伸ばす	のばす nobasu	to grow long (e.g. hair, nails)
伸縮	しんしゅく shinshuku	expansion and contraction; elasticity; flexibility
伸び伸び	のびのび nobinobi	comfortably; peacefully; freely
伸長	しんちょう shinchou	expansion; extension; elongation
縮小	しゅくしょう shukushou	reduction; curtailment; cut
短縮	たんしゅく tanshuku	shortening; contraction; reduction
自分	じぶん jibun	myself; yourself; oneself
現在	げんざい genzai	the present; present time; now

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.