Japanese symbol for “pencil”
鉛筆
えんぴつ
Romaji: enpitsu
(wooden) pencil
In Japanese, pencil is 鉛筆, read えんぴつ (enpitsu).
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 (wooden) pencil
Written forms: 鉛筆. Readings: えんぴつ、エンピツ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “pencil”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ペンシル | ペンシル penshiru | pencil |
| 光線束 | こうせんそく kousensoku | pencil (of light rays) |
| 光束 | こうそく kousoku | pencil (of light); beam |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 亜鉛 | あえん aen | zinc (Zn) |
| 黒鉛 | こくえん kokuen | graphite |
| 色鉛筆 | いろえんぴつ iroenpitsu | colored pencil; coloured pencil |
| 鉛直 | えんちょく enchoku | upright; vertical; perpendicular |
| 鉛管 | えんかん enkan | lead pipe |
| 執筆 | しっぴつ shippitsu | writing; authoring |
| 筆者 | ひっしゃ hissha | writer; author |
| 筆記 | ひっき hikki | writing down; taking notes; copying |
See also: Chinese symbol for “pencil”.
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.