Japanese symbol for “law”
法律
ほうりつ
Romaji: houritsu
law; legislation; act
In Japanese, law is 法律, read ほうりつ (houritsu).
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 law; legislation; act
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “law”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 法則 | ほうそく housoku | law; rule |
| 法学 | ほうがく hougaku | law; jurisprudence |
| 法 | ほう hou | law; act; principle |
| 定め | さだめ sadame | law; rule; regulation |
| 掟 | おきて okite | law; regulation; rule |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 方法 | ほうほう houhou | method; way; manner |
| 法人 | ほうじん houjin | corporation; corporate body; company |
| 憲法 | けんぽう kenpou | constitution |
| 司法 | しほう shihou | administration of justice; judicature |
| 違法 | いほう ihou | illegal; illicit; unlawful |
| 規律 | きりつ kiritsu | order; observance; discipline |
| 旋律 | せんりつ senritsu | melody; tune |
| 一律 | いちりつ ichiritsu | uniform; even; across-the-board |
See also: Chinese symbol for “law”.
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.