Japanese symbol for “qian”
乾
けん
Romaji: ken
qian (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: heaven, northwest)
In Japanese, qian is 乾, 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 qian (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: heaven, northwest)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “qian”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 乾為天 | けんいてん ken'iten | qian (hexagram 1 of the I Ching: heaven, the creative) |
| 地山謙 | ちざんけん chizanken | qian (hexagram 15 of the I Ching: modesty) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 乾燥 | かんそう kansou | dryness; aridity; drying (e.g. clothes) |
| 乾杯 | かんぱい kanpai | cheers; bottoms-up; prosit |
| 乾電池 | かんでんち kandenchi | dry cell battery |
| 乾季 | かんき kanki | dry season |
| 乾かす | かわかす kawakasu | to dry (clothes, etc.); to desiccate |
| 乾物 | かんぶつ kanbutsu | dry provisions; dried food; dried goods |
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.