Japanese symbol for “nanking”

南京

ナンキン

Romaji: nankin

Nanjing (China); Nanking

In Japanese, nanking is 南京, read ナンキン (nankin).

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 Nanjing (China); Nanking
n pumpkin; squash
n-pref Chinese; Southeast Asian; foreign
n-pref rare; precious; cute

Kanji and stroke order

南

south

on: ナン、ナ
kun: みなみ

9 strokes · JLPT 4

京

capital, 10**16

on: キョウ、ケイ、キン
kun: みやこ

8 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
南部	なんぶ nanbu	southern part; the south (of a region)
南北	なんぼく nanboku	north and south; north to south
南西	なんせい nansei	southwest
南東	なんとう nantou	southeast
南極	なんきょく nankyoku	South Pole
南米	なんべい nanbei	South America
東京	とうきょう toukyou	Tokyo
京都	きょうと kyouto	Kyoto (city, prefecture)

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.