Japanese symbol for “ginger”
生姜
しょうが
Romaji: shouga
ginger (Zingiber officinale)
In Japanese, ginger is 生姜, read しょうが (shouga).
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 ginger (Zingiber officinale)
Written forms: 生姜、生薑、薑. Readings: しょうが、ショウガ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ginger”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ジンジャー | ジンジャー jinjaa | ginger |
| 薑 | はじかみ hajikami | ginger (Zingiber officinale) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 生活 | せいかつ seikatsu | life; living |
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor; master |
| 人生 | じんせい jinsei | (one's) life |
| 学生 | がくせい gakusei | student (esp. a university student) |
| 発生 | はっせい hassei | occurrence; incidence; outbreak |
| 誕生 | たんじょう tanjou | birth (of a person); nativity |
| 乾生姜 | かんしょうが kanshouga | powdered ginger |
| 生姜焼き | しょうがやき shougayaki | pork fried with ginger |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ginger”.
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.