Japanese symbol for “grayling”

蛇の目蝶

じゃのめちょう

Romaji: janomechou

satyrid (any butterfly of subfamily Satyrinae, esp. the dryad, Minois dryas); grayling

In Japanese, grayling is 蛇の目蝶, read じゃのめちょう (janomechou).

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 satyrid (any butterfly of subfamily Satyrinae, esp. the dryad, Minois dryas); grayling

Written forms: 蛇の目蝶、蛇目蝶. Readings: じゃのめちょう、ジャノメチョウ.

Kanji and stroke order

蛇

snake, serpent, hard drinker

on: ジャ、ダ、イ、ヤ
kun: へび

11 strokes · JLPT 1

目

eye, class, look

on: モク、ボク
kun: め、-め、ま-

5 strokes · JLPT 4

蝶

butterfly

on: チョウ

15 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
蛇口	じゃぐち jaguchi	faucet; tap
蛇行	だこう dakou	meandering; snaking; zigzagging
大蛇	だいじゃ daija	big snake; (large) serpent
蛇の目	じゃのめ janome	bull's-eye (pattern); double ring (pattern)
蛇足	だそく dasoku	redundancy; superfluity; useless addition
目的	もくてき mokuteki	purpose; goal; aim
目標	もくひょう mokuhyou	goal; target; aim
注目	ちゅうもく chuumoku	notice; attention; observation
蝶々	ちょうちょう chouchou	butterfly

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.