Japanese symbol for “penalty”
刑
けい
Romaji: kei
penalty; sentence; punishment
In Japanese, penalty is 刑, read けい (kei).
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, n-suf penalty; sentence; punishment
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “penalty”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 罰金 | ばっきん bakkin | fine; penalty |
| 罪 | つみ tsumi | penalty; sentence; punishment |
| 処罰 | しょばつ shobatsu | punishment; penalty |
| 罰則 | ばっそく bassoku | punishment; penalty |
| 処分 | しょぶん shobun | punishment; penalty |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刑事 | けいじ keiji | (police) detective |
| 死刑 | しけい shikei | death penalty; capital punishment |
| 刑務所 | けいむしょ keimusho | prison; jail; gaol |
| 処刑 | しょけい shokei | execution |
| 刑法 | けいほう keihou | criminal law; penal code |
| 実刑 | じっけい jikkei | prison sentence (without a stay of execution) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “penalty”.
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.