Japanese symbol for “honorable”
偉い
えらい
Romaji: erai
great; excellent; admirable; commendable
In Japanese, honorable is 偉い, read えらい (erai).
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
- adj-i great; excellent; admirable; commendable; laudable; honorable
- adj-i distinguished; important; high-ranking; powerful; eminent; famous
- adj-i awful; terrible; serious; tremendous; great; mighty
- adj-i tiring; tough; hard
- adv very; extremely
Written forms: 偉い、豪い. Readings: えらい、エライ、エラい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “honorable”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上 | うえ ue | honorable; venerable; dear |
| 尋常 | じんじょう jinjou | fair (e.g. fight); gracious; honorable |
| 良心的 | りょうしんてき ryoushinteki | conscientious; reasonable (e.g. price); honest |
| 栄誉ある | えいよある eiyoaru | honourable; honorable; prestigious |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 偉大 | いだい idai | great; grand; magnificent |
| 偉人 | いじん ijin | great person; eminent figure |
| 偉業 | いぎょう igyou | great achievement; great feat; great work |
| 偉く | えらく eraku | awfully; terribly; tremendously |
| お偉方 | おえらがた oeragata | superiors; big shots; higher-ups |
See also: Chinese symbol for “honorable”.
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.