King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “poem”

Romaji: shi
poem; poetry; verse

In Japanese, poem is , read (shi).

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

  1. n poem; poetry; verse
  2. n Chinese poem

Kanji and stroke order

poem, poetry
on: シ
kun: うた
13 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “poem”

WordReadingMeaning
ポエム poemupoem
ふ fupoem
えいか eikapoem (esp. tanka); song; composition of a poem or song
さっか sakkawriting songs or poems; poem
ふえい fueipoem; writing a poem

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しじん shijinpoet
しいか shiikaJapanese and Chinese poetry
ししゅう shishuupoetry anthology; collection of poems; collected poems
じょじし jojishiepic (poem); epic poetry
かんし kanshiChinese poem; Chinese poetry
ふうぶつし fuubutsushifeature of the season; something characteristic of a particular season

See also: Chinese symbol for “poem”.

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.