Japanese symbol for “pestle”
杵
きね
Romaji: kine
mallet; pestle; pounder
In Japanese, pestle is 杵, read きね (kine).
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 mallet; pestle; pounder
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “pestle”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 乳棒 | にゅうぼう nyuubou | pestle |
| すりこ木 | すりこぎ surikogi | pestle |
| 当たり棒 | あたりぼう ataribou | pestle |
| 当たり木 | あたりぎ atarigi | pestle |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 杵柄 | きねづか kinezuka | mallet handle |
| 金剛杵 | こんごうしょ kongousho | vajra (mystical weapon in Hinduism and Buddhism) |
| 瓊瓊杵尊 | ににぎのみこと niniginomikoto | Ninigi no Mikoto (Japanese deity; grandson of Amaterasu, great grandfather of Emperor Jimmu) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “pestle”.
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.