Japanese symbol for “newt”

井守

いもり

Romaji: imori

newt (esp. the Japanese fire belly newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster)

In Japanese, newt is 井守, read いもり (imori).

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 newt (esp. the Japanese fire belly newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster)

Written forms: 井守、蠑螈. Readings: いもり、イモリ.

Kanji and stroke order

井

well, well crib, town

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: い

4 strokes · JLPT 1

守

guard, protect, defend

on: シュ、ス
kun: まも.る、まも.り、もり、-もり

6 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
天井	てんじょう tenjou	ceiling
井戸	いど ido	water well
筒井	つつい tsutsui	round well
油井	ゆせい yusei	oil well
市井	しせい shisei	the street; the town
井筒	いづつ izutsu	well curb; well kerb
守る	まもる mamoru	to protect; to guard; to defend
保守	ほしゅ hoshu	maintenance

See also: Chinese symbol for “newt”.

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.