Japanese symbol for “expedition”
遠征
えんせい
Romaji: ensei
(military) expedition; campaign
In Japanese, expedition is 遠征, read えんせい (ensei).
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, vi, vs (military) expedition; campaign
- n, vi, vs expedition (for exploration, research, etc.); travelling (a long way); tour (by a sports team, performer, etc.); visit
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “expedition”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 探検 | たんけん tanken | exploration; expedition |
| 出兵 | しゅっぺい shuppei | dispatch of troops; despatch of troops; expedition |
| 征途 | せいと seito | (military or pleasure) expedition |
| 出軍 | しゅつぐん shutsugun | expedition |
| 出師 | すいし suishi | dispatch of troops; despatch of troops; expedition |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 永遠 | えいえん eien | eternity; perpetuity; permanence |
| 遠慮 | えんりょ enryo | reserve; constraint; restraint |
| 遠い | とおい tooi | far; distant; far away |
| 望遠鏡 | ぼうえんきょう bouenkyou | telescope |
| 敬遠 | けいえん keien | pretending to respect (someone) while in fact staying distant; keeping at arm's length; giving a wide berth |
| 征服 | せいふく seifuku | conquest; subjugation |
| 出征 | しゅっせい shussei | going to war; departure for the front |
| 征伐 | せいばつ seibatsu | conquest; subjugation; overcoming |
See also: Chinese symbol for “expedition”.
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.