Japanese symbol for “keeping”
飼育
しいく
Romaji: shiiku
breeding; raising; rearing; keeping
In Japanese, keeping is 飼育, read しいく (shiiku).
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 breeding; raising; rearing; keeping
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “keeping”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 保有 | ほゆう hoyuu | possession; retention; maintenance |
| 預け | あずけ azuke | custody; keeping; checking-in (e.g. bags) |
| 温存 | おんぞん onzon | preservation; retainment; keeping |
| 飼い | かい kai | raising (of animals); rearing; keeping |
| 守り | もり mori | protecting; keeping; keeper |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 飼い主 | かいぬし kainushi | (pet) owner; keeper |
| 飼う | かう kau | to keep (a pet or other animal); to have; to own |
| 飼い犬 | かいいぬ kaiinu | pet dog |
| 飼料 | しりょう shiryou | fodder; feed |
| 放し飼い | はなしがい hanashigai | free-range rearing; letting (animals) roam freely; pasturing |
| 教育 | きょういく kyouiku | education; schooling; training |
| 体育 | たいいく taiiku | physical education; PE; gym (class) |
| 育児 | いくじ ikuji | childcare; child-rearing; nursing |
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.