Japanese symbol for “line”
線
せん
Romaji: sen
line; stripe; stria
In Japanese, line is 線, read せん (sen).
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, n-suf line; stripe; stria
- n, n-suf line (e.g. telephone line); wire
- n, n-suf ray (e.g. X-ray); beam
- n, n-suf line (e.g. of a railroad); track; route; lane
- n, n-suf outline; contours; form
- n, n-suf level
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “line”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 行 | ぎょう gyou | line (of text); row; verse |
| 並び | ならび narabi | line; row; rank |
| 行列 | ぎょうれつ gyouretsu | line; queue; procession |
| 列 | れつ retsu | row; line; file |
| 一行 | いちぎょう ichigyou | (one) line; (one) row |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 新幹線 | しんかんせん shinkansen | Shinkansen; bullet train |
| 無線 | むせん musen | radio (communication) |
| 路線 | ろせん rosen | route (bus, train, air, etc.); line |
| 線路 | せんろ senro | railway track; railway line; railroad |
| 直線 | ちょくせん chokusen | straight line |
| 本線 | ほんせん honsen | main line; trunk line |
See also: Chinese symbol for “line”.
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.