King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “god”

Romaji: kami
god; deity; divinity; spirit

In Japanese, god is , read (kami).

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 god; deity; divinity; spirit; kami
  2. adj-na, n-pref god-tier; incredible; fantastic; amazing
  3. n Emperor (of Japan)
  4. n thunder

Kanji and stroke order

gods, mind, soul
on: シン、ジン
kun: かみ、かん-、こう-
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “god”

WordReadingMeaning
かみさま kamisamaGod; god; deity
ちち chichiGod; Father
てん tenGod
おおかみ ookamigod
ゴッド goddogod (esp. the Christian God)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
せいしん seishinmind; spirit; soul
しんけい shinkeinerve
じんじゃ jinjaShinto shrine
かみさま kamisamaGod; god; deity
しんわ shinwamyth; mythology
はんしん hanshinOsaka-Kobe

See also: Chinese symbol for “god”.

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.