King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “primary”

Romaji: genpatsu
nuclear power plant; nuclear power generation

In Japanese, primary is , read (genpatsu).

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 nuclear power plant; nuclear power generation
  2. adj-no, n, vs primary (e.g. primary immunodeficiency syndrome)

Kanji and stroke order

meadow, original, primitive
on: ゲン
kun: はら
10 strokes · JLPT 2
departure, discharge, publish
on: ハツ、ホツ
kun: た.つ、あば.く、おこ.る、つか.わす
9 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “primary”

WordReadingMeaning
しゅたる shutarumain; principal; chief
よせん yosenpreliminary selection; screening (e.g. of applicants); provisional election
げん genoriginal; primitive; primary
しょとう shotouelementary; primary
プライマリ puraimariprimary

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
げんいん gen'incause; origin; source
げんさく gensakuoriginal work
げんそく gensokuprinciple; general rule
げんしりょく genshiryokuatomic energy; nuclear power
げんり genriprinciple; theory; fundamental truth
げんこう genkoumanuscript; copy; draft
はつばい hatsubaisale; offering for sale; putting on sale
はっぴょう happyouannouncement; publication; presenting

See also: Chinese symbol for “primary”.

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.

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