King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “forerunner”

Romaji: senku
forerunner; precursor; pioneer; leader

In Japanese, forerunner is , read (senku).

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

  1. n, vi, vs forerunner; precursor; pioneer; leader
  2. n, vi, vs outrider; outriding

Kanji and stroke order

before, ahead, previous
on: セン
kun: さき、ま.ず
6 strokes · JLPT 4
drive, run, gallop
on: ク
kun: か.ける、か.る
14 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “forerunner”

WordReadingMeaning
さきがけ sakigakepioneer; leader; taking the initiative
つゆはらい tsuyuharaiperson who clears the way for a high-ranking person, procession, etc.; outrider; harbinger
さきばらい sakibaraiforerunner
まえぶれ maebureherald; harbinger; forerunner
ぜんく zenkuharbinger; herald; precursor

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
せんせい senseiteacher; instructor; master
ゆうせん yuusenpreference; priority; precedence
せんぱい senpaisenior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder
せんじつ senjitsuthe other day; a few days ago
せんしゅう senshuulast week; the week before
せんげつ sengetsulast month
くちく kuchikuexpulsion; driving out; driving away
くし kushiusing freely; making full use of; having a good command of

See also: Chinese symbol for “forerunner”.

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.

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