King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “prize”

Romaji: shou
prize; award

In Japanese, prize is , read (shou).

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, n-suf prize; award

Kanji and stroke order

prize, reward, praise
on: ショウ
kun: ほ.める
15 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “prize”

WordReadingMeaning
しょうひん shouhinprize; trophy
けんしょう kenshouoffering a prize; prize competition; prize
ほうしょう houshouprize; award; reward
ほうび houbireward; prize
おもんじる omonjiruto respect; to honor; to honour

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しょうきん shoukinprize money; monetary award; reward
かんしょう kanshouappreciation (of art, music, poetry, etc.)
じゅしょう jushouwinning a prize; receiving an award; being awarded
にゅうしょう nyuushouwinning a prize; placing (high; in a contest)
たいしょう taishoubig prize; first prize
しょうさん shousanpraise; admiration; commendation

See also: Chinese symbol for “prize”.

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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