Japanese symbol for “health”
健康
けんこう
Romaji: kenkou
health
In Japanese, health is 健康, read けんこう (kenkou).
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 health
- adj-na healthy; sound; fit; wholesome
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “health”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 衛生 | えいせい eisei | hygiene; sanitation; cleanliness |
| 体 | からだ karada | health; constitution |
| 具合 | ぐあい guai | health; state (of health) |
| ヘルス | ヘルス herusu | health |
| 剛健 | ごうけん gouken | vigour; vigor; virility |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 保健 | ほけん hoken | preservation of health; hygiene; sanitation |
| 健全 | けんぜん kenzen | healthy; sound; wholesome |
| 保健所 | ほけんじょ hokenjo | health care center; health care centre |
| 穏健 | おんけん onken | moderate (view, politics, etc.); temperate; sensible |
| 健やか | すこやか sukoyaka | vigorous; healthy; sound |
| 不健康 | ふけんこう fukenkou | poor health; ill health; unhealthy |
| 小康 | しょうこう shoukou | lull; breathing spell; respite |
| 康平 | こうへい kouhei | Kōhei era (1058.8.29-1065.8.2) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “health”.
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.