Japanese symbol for “ironclad”
鉄船
てっせん
Romaji: tessen
steel ship; ironclad
In Japanese, ironclad is 鉄船, read てっせん (tessen).
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 steel ship; ironclad
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鉄道 | てつどう tetsudou | railroad; railway; rail transport |
| 地下鉄 | ちかてつ chikatetsu | subway; metro; underground (railway) |
| 国鉄 | こくてつ kokutetsu | national railway |
| 鉄骨 | てっこつ tekkotsu | steel frame; steel beam; steel girder |
| 鉄筋 | てっきん tekkin | rebar; (iron) reinforcing bar; reinforcing steel |
| 私鉄 | してつ shitetsu | private railway |
| 船長 | せんちょう senchou | ship's captain; skipper |
| 風船 | ふうせん fuusen | balloon (toy or decoration) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ironclad”.
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.