Japanese symbol for “precursor”
先駆
せんく
Romaji: senku
forerunner; precursor; pioneer; leader
In Japanese, precursor is 先駆, read せんく (senku).
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, vi, vs forerunner; precursor; pioneer; leader
- n, vi, vs outrider; outriding
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “precursor”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 前兆 | ぜんちょう zenchou | omen; portent; sign |
| 先達 | せんだつ sendatsu | leader; pioneer; precursor |
| 前兆現象 | ぜんちょうげんしょう zenchougenshou | precursor; premonitory phenomena; telltale signs |
| 前駆体 | ぜんくたい zenkutai | (biochemical) precursor |
| 前駆 | ぜんく zenku | harbinger; herald; precursor |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor; master |
| 優先 | ゆうせん yuusen | preference; priority; precedence |
| 先輩 | せんぱい senpai | senior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder |
| 先日 | せんじつ senjitsu | the other day; a few days ago |
| 先週 | せんしゅう senshuu | last week; the week before |
| 先月 | せんげつ sengetsu | last month |
| 駆逐 | くちく kuchiku | expulsion; driving out; driving away |
| 駆使 | くし kushi | using freely; making full use of; having a good command of |
See also: Chinese symbol for “precursor”.
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.