King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “metamorphosis”

Romaji: henshin
metamorphosis; disguise; transformation; shapeshifting

In Japanese, metamorphosis is , read (henshin).

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

  1. n, vi, vs metamorphosis; disguise; transformation; shapeshifting; morphing

Kanji and stroke order

unusual, change, strange
on: ヘン
kun: か.わる、か.わり、か.える
9 strokes · JLPT 2
somebody, person, one's station in life
on: シン
kun: み
7 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “metamorphosis”

WordReadingMeaning
へんけい henkeitransformation; variation; metamorphosis
へんたい hentaimetamorphosis
へんせい henseimetamorphosis
メタモルフォーゼ metamorufoozemetamorphosis
かせい kaseigrowth; metamorphosis

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
たいへん taihenvery; greatly; terribly
へんこう henkouchange; modification; alteration
へんか henkachange; variation; alteration
かわる kawaruto change; to be transformed; to be altered
へんどう hendouchange; fluctuation
じしん jishin(one's) self; oneself; yourself
しゅっしん shusshinone's origin (e.g. city, country, parentage, school)
なかみ nakamicontents; interior; filling

See also: Chinese symbol for “metamorphosis”.

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.

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