Japanese symbol for “mallet”
杵
きね
Romaji: kine
mallet; pestle; pounder
In Japanese, mallet is 杵, read きね (kine).
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 mallet; pestle; pounder
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “mallet”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 小槌 | こづち kozuchi | (small) mallet; gavel |
| 槌 | つち tsuchi | hammer; mallet; sledgehammer |
| マレット | マレット maretto | mallet (croquet, etc.) |
| 掛矢 | かけや kakeya | mallet; maul |
| 撥 | ばち bachi | drumstick (for taiko); mallet (for a gong); beater |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 杵柄 | きねづか kinezuka | mallet handle |
| 金剛杵 | こんごうしょ kongousho | vajra (mystical weapon in Hinduism and Buddhism) |
| 瓊瓊杵尊 | ににぎのみこと niniginomikoto | Ninigi no Mikoto (Japanese deity; grandson of Amaterasu, great grandfather of Emperor Jimmu) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “mallet”.
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.