Japanese symbol for “marten”
貂
てん
Romaji: ten
Japanese marten (Martes melampus)
In Japanese, marten is 貂, read てん (ten).
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 Japanese marten (Martes melampus)
- n marten (any arboreal weasel-like mammal of genus Martes)
Written forms: 貂、黄鼬. Readings: てん、テン.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 黒貂 | くろてん kuroten | sable (Martes zibellina) |
| 対馬貂 | つしまてん tsushimaten | Tsushima marten (Martes melampus tsuensis, a subspecies of the Japanese marten) |
| 胸白貂 | むなじろてん munajiroten | stone marten; beech marten (Martes foina) |
| 蝦夷黒貂 | えぞくろてん ezokuroten | Japanese sable (subspecies of sable native to Hokkaido, Martes zibellina brachyura) |
| 白貂 | しろてん shiroten | ermine |
| 松貂 | まつてん matsuten | European pine marten (Martes martes) |
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.