Japanese symbol for “lives”

列伝

れつでん

Romaji: retsuden

series of biographies; lives

In Japanese, lives is 列伝, read れつでん (retsuden).

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 series of biographies; lives

Kanji and stroke order

列

file, row, rank

on: レツ、レ

6 strokes · JLPT 2

伝

transmit, go along, walk along

on: デン、テン
kun: つた.わる、つた.える、つた.う、つだ.う

6 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
列車	れっしゃ ressha	train; railway train
系列	けいれつ keiretsu	series; sequence; system
行列	ぎょうれつ gyouretsu	line; queue; procession
列島	れっとう rettou	archipelago; chain of islands
配列	はいれつ hairetsu	arranging; ordering; sequencing
陳列	ちんれつ chinretsu	exhibition; display; putting on show
伝統	でんとう dentou	tradition; convention
宣伝	せんでん senden	publicity; advertisement; advertising

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.