Japanese symbol for “innately”

生来

せいらい

Romaji: seirai

by nature; naturally; by birth; innately

In Japanese, innately is 生来, read せいらい (seirai).

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-no, adv, n by nature; naturally; by birth; innately; congenitally
adv since birth; in one's (entire) life

Written forms: 生来、性来. Readings: せいらい、しょうらい.

Kanji and stroke order

生

life, genuine, birth

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: い.きる、い.かす、い.ける、う.まれる

5 strokes · JLPT 4

来

come, due, next

on: ライ、タイ
kun: く.る、きた.る、きた.す、き.たす

7 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
生活	せいかつ seikatsu	life; living
先生	せんせい sensei	teacher; instructor; master
人生	じんせい jinsei	(one's) life
学生	がくせい gakusei	student (esp. a university student)
発生	はっせい hassei	occurrence; incidence; outbreak
誕生	たんじょう tanjou	birth (of a person); nativity
未来	みらい mirai	(distant) future
出来る	できる dekiru	to be able to do; to be possible; to be permitted (to do)

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.