Japanese symbol for “extracellular”

細胞外

さいぼうがい

Romaji: saibougai

extracellular

In Japanese, extracellular is 細胞外, read さいぼうがい (saibougai).

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 extracellular

Kanji and stroke order

細

dainty, get thin, taper

on: サイ
kun: ほそ.い、ほそ.る、こま.か、こま.かい

11 strokes · JLPT 2

胞

placenta, sac, sheath

on: ホウ

9 strokes · JLPT 1

外

outside

on: ガイ、ゲ
kun: そと、ほか、はず.す、はず.れる

5 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
詳細	しょうさい shousai	details; particulars; specifics
細胞	さいぼう saibou	cell
細かい	こまかい komakai	small
細菌	さいきん saikin	bacterium; bacteria; germ
細い	ほそい hosoi	thin; slender; fine
繊細	せんさい sensai	dainty; delicate (e.g. fingers); fine
同胞	どうほう douhou	brethren; brothers; fellow countrymen
胞子	ほうし houshi	spore
海外	かいがい kaigai	foreign; abroad; overseas

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.