Japanese symbol for “modern”
新しい
あたらしい
Romaji: atarashii
new; novel; fresh; recent
In Japanese, modern is 新しい, read あたらしい (atarashii).
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
- adj-i new; novel; fresh; recent; latest; up-to-date
Written forms: 新しい、新らしい. Readings: あたらしい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “modern”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| モダン | モダン modan | modern |
| 今風 | いまふう imafuu | modern; current; contemporary |
| ヌーボー | ヌーボー nuuboo | modern; up-to-date |
| 近代的 | きんだいてき kindaiteki | modern |
| 現代的 | げんだいてき gendaiteki | modern; modernistic |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 新聞 | しんぶん shinbun | newspaper |
| 新た | あらた arata | new; fresh; novel |
| 新規 | しんき shinki | new; fresh |
| 新人 | しんじん shinjin | newcomer; new figure; new member |
| 新幹線 | しんかんせん shinkansen | Shinkansen; bullet train |
See also: Chinese symbol for “modern”.
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.