Japanese symbol for “heirloom”
伝家
でんか
Romaji: denka
heirloom; trump card; last resort; family tradition
In Japanese, heirloom is 伝家, read でんか (denka).
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 heirloom; trump card; last resort; family tradition
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “heirloom”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 形見 | かたみ katami | memento (esp. of a deceased person); keepsake; heirloom |
| 家宝 | かほう kahou | heirloom |
| 手次 | てつぎ tetsugi | something handed down through successive generations; heirloom |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 伝統 | でんとう dentou | tradition; convention |
| 宣伝 | せんでん senden | publicity; advertisement; advertising |
| 伝説 | でんせつ densetsu | legend; folklore; tradition |
| 手伝い | てつだい tetsudai | helper; assistant |
| 遺伝 | いでん iden | heredity; (genetic) inheritance |
| 遺伝子 | いでんし idenshi | gene |
| 家族 | かぞく kazoku | family |
| 国家 | こっか kokka | state; country; nation |
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.