Japanese symbol for “inquiring”

借問

しゃもん

Romaji: shamon

inquiring; enquiring

In Japanese, inquiring is 借問, read しゃもん (shamon).

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, vs, vt inquiring; enquiring

Written forms: 借問. Readings: しゃもん、しゃくもん.

Kanji and stroke order

借

borrow, rent

on: シャク
kun: か.りる

10 strokes · JLPT 3

問

question, ask, problem

on: モン
kun: と.う、と.い、とん

11 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
借金	しゃっきん shakkin	debt; loan; liabilities
借り	かり kari	borrowing; debt; loan
借りる	かりる kariru	to borrow
貸借	たいしゃく taishaku	loan; debit and credit; lending and borrowing
賃借	ちんしゃく chinshaku	renting; rental; hiring
拝借	はいしゃく haishaku	borrowing
問題	もんだい mondai	question (e.g. on a test); problem
質問	しつもん shitsumon	question; inquiry; enquiry

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.