Japanese symbol for “province”
州
しゅう
Romaji: shuu
state (of the US, Australia, India, Germany, etc.); province (e.g. of Canada); county (e.g. of the UK); region (e.g. of Italy)
In Japanese, province is 州, read しゅう (shuu).
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 state (of the US, Australia, India, Germany, etc.); province (e.g. of Canada); county (e.g. of the UK); region (e.g. of Italy); canton; oblast
- n, n-suf continent
- n-suf province (of Japan)
- n, n-suf province (of ancient China); prefecture; department
- suf dear
Written forms: 州、洲. Readings: しゅう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “province”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 国 | くに kuni | province (of Japan) |
| 県 | けん ken | prefecture (of Japan); county (of China, Taiwan, Norway, etc.); department (of France) |
| 藩 | はん han | han (estate of a daimyo in the Edo and early Meiji periods); feudal domain; fief |
| 郷土 | きょうど kyoudo | province; region; locality |
| 道 | どう dou | province (administrative region of Korea) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 九州 | きゅうしゅう kyuushuu | Kyūshū (southernmost of the four main islands of Japan) |
| 欧州 | おうしゅう oushuu | Europe |
| 広州 | こうしゅう koushuu | Guangzhou (China); Canton |
| 州都 | しゅうと shuuto | state capital; provincial capital; county town |
| 北九州 | きたきゅうしゅう kitakyuushuu | Kitakyushu (city) |
| 本州 | ほんしゅう honshuu | Honshū (largest of the four main islands of Japan); Honshu |
See also: Chinese symbol for “province”.
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.