Japanese symbol for “fingertips”

手先

てさき

Romaji: tesaki

fingers; fingertips

In Japanese, fingertips is 手先, read てさき (tesaki).

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 fingers; fingertips
n underling; stooge; tool; pawn; minion

Kanji and stroke order

手

hand

on: シュ、ズ
kun: て、て-、-て、た-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

先

before, ahead, previous

on: セン
kun: さき、ま.ず

6 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
相手	あいて aite	companion; partner; company
選手	せんしゅ senshu	player (of a sport); athlete; team member
手段	しゅだん shudan	means; way; method
手術	しゅじゅつ shujutsu	surgery; operation; procedure
大手	おおて oote	major company; big company
手紙	てがみ tegami	letter; note
先生	せんせい sensei	teacher; instructor; master
優先	ゆうせん yuusen	preference; priority; precedence

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.