Japanese symbol for “honesty”
信
しん
Romaji: shin
honesty; sincerity; fidelity
In Japanese, honesty is 信, read しん (shin).
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 honesty; sincerity; fidelity
- n trust; reliance; confidence
- n (religious) faith; devotion
- ctr counter for received messages
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “honesty”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 実 | じつ jitsu | sincerity; honesty; fidelity |
| 硬さ | かたさ katasa | firmness; hardness; stiffness |
| 誠 | まこと makoto | sincerity; honesty; faithfulness |
| 信実 | しんじつ shinjitsu | sincerity; honesty; truth |
| 生一本 | きいっぽん kiippon | straight-forwardness; honesty; purity |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 通信 | つうしん tsuushin | correspondence; communication; transmission |
| 信頼 | しんらい shinrai | trust (in); confidence; faith |
| 自信 | じしん jishin | self-confidence; confidence (in oneself) |
| 信用 | しんよう shin'you | confidence; trust; faith |
| 信号 | しんごう shingou | signal; signalling; signaling |
| 受信 | じゅしん jushin | receiving (a message, letter, email, etc.); reception (radio, TV, etc.) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “honesty”.
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.