Japanese symbol for “muscle”
筋
すじ
Romaji: suji
muscle; tendon; sinew
In Japanese, muscle is 筋, read すじ (suji).
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 muscle; tendon; sinew
- n vein; artery
- n fiber; fibre; string
- n line; stripe; streak
- n reason; logic
- n plot; storyline
Written forms: 筋、条. Readings: すじ、スジ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “muscle”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 筋肉 | きんにく kinniku | muscle |
| マッスル | マッスル massuru | muscle; strength |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 筋肉 | きんにく kinniku | muscle |
| 鉄筋 | てっきん tekkin | rebar; (iron) reinforcing bar; reinforcing steel |
| 一筋 | ひとすじ hitosuji | one line; one stretch (e.g. of road); one strand (e.g. of hair) |
| 道筋 | みちすじ michisuji | course (of a road, moving object, etc.); way; route |
| 背筋 | せすじ sesuji | spine; line of the backbone |
| 筋力 | きんりょく kinryoku | physical strength; muscle strength |
See also: Chinese symbol for “muscle”.
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.