Japanese symbol for “heron”
鷺
さぎ
Romaji: sagi
heron (Ardeidae)
In Japanese, heron is 鷺, read さぎ (sagi).
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 heron (Ardeidae)
Written forms: 鷺. Readings: さぎ、サギ.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 白鷺 | しらさぎ shirasagi | heron with all-white plumage (incl. egrets); white heron |
| 朱鷺 | じゅろ juro | Japanese crested ibis |
| 青鷺 | あおさぎ aosagi | grey heron (Ardea cinerea); gray heron |
| 黒鷺 | くろさぎ kurosagi | eastern reef heron (Egretta sacra); Pacific reef heron |
| 大鷺 | だいさぎ daisagi | great egret (Ardea alba); great white egret |
| 五位鷺 | ごいさぎ goisagi | black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax); night heron |
See also: Chinese symbol for “heron”.
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.