Japanese symbol for “extant”

現存

げんぞん

Romaji: genzon

existing; living; extant

In Japanese, extant is 現存, read げんぞん (genzon).

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-no, n, vi existing; living; extant

Written forms: 現存. Readings: げんぞん、げんそん.

Kanji and stroke order

現

present, existing, actual

on: ゲン
kun: あらわ.れる、あらわ.す、うつつ、うつ.つ

11 strokes · JLPT 2

存

exist, suppose, be aware of

on: ソン、ゾン
kun: ながら.える、あ.る、たも.つ、と.う

6 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
現在	げんざい genzai	the present; present time; now
現れ	あらわれ araware	embodiment; manifestation; materialization
現実	げんじつ genjitsu	reality; actuality; hard fact
表現	ひょうげん hyougen	expression; representation; description
現場	げんば genba	actual spot; scene (of a crime, accident, etc.)
現代	げんだい gendai	present age; present day; contemporary
存在	そんざい sonzai	existence; being; presence
保存	ほぞん hozon	preservation; conservation; storage

See also: Chinese symbol for “extant”.

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.