Japanese symbol for “hedgehog”
針鼠
はりねずみ
Romaji: harinezumi
hedgehog (any mammal of family Erinaceidae)
In Japanese, hedgehog is 針鼠, read はりねずみ (harinezumi).
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 hedgehog (any mammal of family Erinaceidae)
Written forms: 針鼠、針ねずみ、蝟. Readings: はりねずみ、ハリネズミ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “hedgehog”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ヘッジホッグ | ヘッジホッグ hejjihoggu | hedgehog |
| 山荒 | やまあらし yamaarashi | porcupine; hedgehog |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 方針 | ほうしん houshin | policy; course; plan (of action) |
| 指針 | ししん shishin | needle (compass, gauge, etc.); hand (clock); indicator |
| 針金 | はりがね harigane | wire |
| 羅針盤 | らしんばん rashinban | compass |
| 釣り針 | つりばり tsuribari | fish hook |
| 針路 | しんろ shinro | course; direction |
| 鼠径 | そけい sokei | groin; inguinal region |
| 殺鼠剤 | さっそざい sassozai | rat poison; rodenticide |
See also: Chinese symbol for “hedgehog”.
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.