King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “formal”

Romaji: seishiki
formal; official; regular; proper

In Japanese, formal is , read (seishiki).

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. adj-na, adj-no, n formal; official; regular; proper; legal; due (formalities)

Kanji and stroke order

correct, justice, righteous
on: セイ、ショウ
kun: ただ.しい、ただ.す、まさ、まさ.に
5 strokes · JLPT 3
style, ceremony, rite
on: シキ
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “formal”

WordReadingMeaning
こうしき koushikiofficial; formal
せいき seikiregular; normal; formal
かたくるしい katakurushiiformal; stiff; strict
はれ hareformal; ceremonial; public
おおやけ ooyakeofficial; governmental; formal

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しょうじき shoujikihonest; frank; candid
しゅうせい shuuseiamendment; correction; revision
かいせい kaiseirevision; amendment; alteration
せいぎ seigijustice; right; righteousness
ふせい fuseiinjustice; unfairness; wrongdoing
こうしき koushikiofficial; formal
けいしき keishikiform (as opposed to substance)
かぶしき kabushikishare (in a company); stock

See also: Chinese symbol for “formal”.

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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