Japanese symbol for “foreign”
海外
かいがい
Romaji: kaigai
foreign; abroad; overseas
In Japanese, foreign is 海外, read かいがい (kaigai).
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 foreign; abroad; overseas
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “foreign”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 外来 | がいらい gairai | foreign; imported |
| 対外 | たいがい taigai | external; foreign; with foreign countries |
| 洋式 | ようしき youshiki | Western-style; foreign |
| 南蛮 | なんばん nanban | foreign (of goods from South-East Asia and Western Europe); exotic (esp. in a Western European or South-East Asian style) |
| 洋 | よう you | foreign; Western; European |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海岸 | かいがん kaigan | seashore; coast; seaside |
| 海軍 | かいぐん kaigun | navy; naval force |
| 北海道 | ほっかいどう hokkaidou | Hokkaido (island, prefectural-level administrative unit) |
| 海上 | かいじょう kaijou | (on the) sea; surface of the sea |
| 海洋 | かいよう kaiyou | ocean; sea |
| 外国 | がいこく gaikoku | foreign country |
| 以外 | いがい igai | excluding; except (for); apart from |
| 外交 | がいこう gaikou | diplomacy |
See also: Chinese symbol for “foreign”.
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.