Japanese symbol for “graphite”
黒鉛
こくえん
Romaji: kokuen
graphite
In Japanese, graphite is 黒鉛, read こくえん (kokuen).
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 graphite
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “graphite”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| グラファイト | グラファイト gurafaito | graphite |
| 石墨 | せきぼく sekiboku | graphite; black lead |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 黒人 | こくじん kokujin | black person |
| 黒い | くろい kuroi | black |
| 黒字 | くろじ kuroji | (being in) the black; surplus |
| 黒板 | こくばん kokuban | blackboard |
| 暗黒 | あんこく ankoku | darkness |
| 白黒 | しろくろ shirokuro | black and white; monochrome |
| 鉛筆 | えんぴつ enpitsu | (wooden) pencil |
| 亜鉛 | あえん aen | zinc (Zn) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “graphite”.
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.