Japanese symbol for “np”

名詞句

めいしく

Romaji: meishiku

noun phrase; NP

In Japanese, np is 名詞句, read めいしく (meishiku).

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 noun phrase; NP (gramm)

Kanji and stroke order

名

name, noted, distinguished

on: メイ、ミョウ
kun: な、-な

6 strokes · JLPT 4

詞

part of speech, words, poetry

on: シ
kun: ことば

12 strokes · JLPT 2

句

phrase, clause, sentence

on: ク

5 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
名前	なまえ namae	name
有名	ゆうめい yuumei	famous; well-known
名誉	めいよ meiyo	honor; honour; credit
名称	めいしょう meishou	name; title
署名	しょめい shomei	signature; autograph
本名	ほんみょう honmyou	real name
歌詞	かし kashi	song lyrics; words of a song; libretto
代名詞	だいめいし daimeishi	pronoun
文句	もんく monku	complaint; grumbling; objection

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.