Japanese symbol for “prefecture”
県
けん
Romaji: ken
prefecture (of Japan); county (of China, Taiwan, Norway, etc.); department (of France); province (of Italy, Spain, etc.)
In Japanese, prefecture is 県, read けん (ken).
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 prefecture (of Japan); county (of China, Taiwan, Norway, etc.); department (of France); province (of Italy, Spain, etc.)
Written forms: 県、縣. Readings: けん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “prefecture”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 府 | ふ fu | (urban) prefecture (i.e. Osaka and Kyoto) |
| 州 | しゅう shuu | province (of ancient China); prefecture; department |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 県立 | けんりつ kenritsu | prefectural; managed by a prefectural government |
| 県内 | けんない kennai | within the prefecture |
| 県庁 | けんちょう kenchou | prefectural office |
| 県民 | けんみん kenmin | resident of a prefecture; citizen of a prefecture |
| 都道府県 | とどうふけん todoufuken | prefectures (of Japan); largest administrative divisions of Japan: Tokyo-to, Osaka-fu, Kyoto-fu, Hokkaido and the remaining prefectures |
| 県警 | けんけい kenkei | prefectural police |
See also: Chinese symbol for “prefecture”.
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.