Japanese symbol for “lookout”
監視
かんし
Romaji: kanshi
monitoring; watching; observation; surveillance
In Japanese, lookout is 監視, read かんし (kanshi).
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 monitoring; watching; observation; surveillance; guarding; supervision
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “lookout”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 見張り | みはり mihari | watch; guard; lookout |
| 番 | ばん ban | watch; guard; lookout |
| 張り込み | はりこみ harikomi | lookout; watch |
| 望楼 | ぼうろう bourou | watchtower; observation tower; lookout |
| 見張り所 | みはりしょ miharisho | lookout; watchhouse |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 監督 | かんとく kantoku | supervision; control; superintendence |
| 監禁 | かんきん kankin | confinement; imprisonment; incarceration |
| 監査 | かんさ kansa | inspection; audit; judgement |
| 監修 | かんしゅう kanshuu | (editorial) supervision; general editorship |
| 監獄 | かんごく kangoku | prison |
| 視点 | してん shiten | point of view; viewpoint; angle |
| 重視 | じゅうし juushi | regarding as important; attaching importance to; taking a serious view of |
| 無視 | むし mushi | disregarding; ignoring |
See also: Chinese symbol for “lookout”.
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.