Japanese symbol for “foundation”
基礎
きそ
Romaji: kiso
foundation; basis
In Japanese, foundation is 基礎, read きそ (kiso).
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 foundation; basis
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “foundation”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 基本 | きほん kihon | basics; fundamentals; basis |
| 創刊 | そうかん soukan | foundation (of a newspaper, magazine, etc.); starting; launching |
| 土台 | どだい dodai | foundation; base; basis |
| 財団 | ざいだん zaidan | foundation (institution); syndicate; group |
| 根拠 | こんきょ konkyo | basis; grounds; foundation |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 基本 | きほん kihon | basics; fundamentals; basis |
| 基準 | きじゅん kijun | standard; criterion; norm |
| 基地 | きち kichi | base (military, expedition, etc.) |
| 基盤 | きばん kiban | base; basis; foundation |
| 基づく | もとづく motozuku | to be based (on); to be founded (on); to be grounded (on) |
| 礎石 | そせき soseki | foundation stone; cornerstone |
| 定礎 | ていそ teiso | laying a cornerstone (foundation stone) |
| 基礎控除 | きそこうじょ kisokoujo | basic or standard deduction |
See also: Chinese symbol for “foundation”.
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.