Japanese symbol for “foundling”
捨て子
すてご
Romaji: sutego
abandoned child; foundling
In Japanese, foundling is 捨て子, read すてご (sutego).
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 abandoned child; foundling
Written forms: 捨て子、棄て子、棄て児、棄児. Readings: すてご、きじ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “foundling”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 拾い子 | ひろいご hiroigo | foundling; rescued child |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 使い捨て | つかいすて tsukaisute | throwaway; disposable; single-use |
| 捨てる | すてる suteru | to throw away; to cast away; to dump |
| 見捨てる | みすてる misuteru | to abandon; to fail; to desert |
| 切り捨て | きりすて kirisute | cutting a person down (without a second thought); sacrificing; throwing to the wolves |
| 呼び捨て | よびすて yobisute | addressing (someone) without using a suffix such as "-san" or "-chan" (considered impolite) |
| 四捨五入 | ししゃごにゅう shishagonyuu | rounding (off; a number); rounding half away from zero |
| 子供 | こども kodomo | child; children |
| 女子 | じょし joshi | woman; girl |
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.