Japanese symbol for “patriarch”
族長
ぞくちょう
Romaji: zokuchou
patriarch; head of a family
In Japanese, patriarch is 族長, read ぞくちょう (zokuchou).
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-no, n patriarch; head of a family
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “patriarch”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 家長 | かちょう kachou | head of a family; patriarch; matriarch |
| 長老 | ちょうろう chourou | dean; presbyter; patriarch |
| 家父長 | かふちょう kafuchou | patriarch |
| パトリアルク | パトリアルク patoriaruku | patriarch |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 家族 | かぞく kazoku | family |
| 民族 | みんぞく minzoku | people; race; nation |
| 貴族 | きぞく kizoku | nobility; aristocracy; peerage |
| 親族 | しんぞく shinzoku | relative; relation; kin |
| 水族館 | すいぞくかん suizokukan | aquarium (building); oceanarium |
| 一族 | いちぞく ichizoku | family; relatives; dependents |
| 成長 | せいちょう seichou | growth; development; growing up |
| 社長 | しゃちょう shachou | company president; manager; director |
See also: Chinese symbol for “patriarch”.
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.