Japanese symbol for “meritorious”
勲し
いさおし
Romaji: isaoshi
achievement; feat; distinguished service
In Japanese, meritorious is 勲し, read いさおし (isaoshi).
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 achievement; feat; distinguished service
- adj-shiku brave; valiant; gallant
- adj-shiku diligent; industrious
- adj-shiku meritorious; of distinguished service
Written forms: 勲し、功し. Readings: いさおし.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勲章 | くんしょう kunshou | decoration; order; medal |
| 叙勲 | じょくん jokun | conferring of decorations |
| 殊勲 | しゅくん shukun | distinguished services; meritorious deeds |
| 武勲 | ぶくん bukun | feats of arms; military exploits; distinguished military service |
| 勲記 | くんき kunki | commendation accompanying the award of a decoration |
| 勲功 | くんこう kunkou | merits; distinguished services |
See also: Chinese symbol for “meritorious”.
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.