Japanese symbol for “ray”
光線
こうせん
Romaji: kousen
ray (of light); beam; light
In Japanese, ray is 光線, read こうせん (kousen).
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 ray (of light); beam; light
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ray”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 線 | せん sen | ray (e.g. X-ray); beam |
| 光 | ひかり hikari | illumination; ray; beam |
| レ | レ re | re (2nd note of a major scale in movable-do solfège); ray |
| 一道 | いちどう ichidou | one road; ray (of hope) |
| 鱝 | えい ei | ray (any fish of superorder Batoidea) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 観光 | かんこう kankou | sightseeing; tourism |
| 光景 | こうけい koukei | scene; spectacle; sight |
| 日光 | にっこう nikkou | sunlight; sunshine; sunbeams |
| 栄光 | えいこう eikou | glory |
| 光る | ひかる hikaru | to shine; to glitter; to be bright |
| 新幹線 | しんかんせん shinkansen | Shinkansen; bullet train |
| 無線 | むせん musen | radio (communication) |
| 路線 | ろせん rosen | route (bus, train, air, etc.); line |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ray”.
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.