Japanese symbol for “reformatory”
少年院
しょうねんいん
Romaji: shounen'in
reformatory; juvenile training school; reform school; youth detention center (centre)
In Japanese, reformatory is 少年院, read しょうねんいん (shounen'in).
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 reformatory; juvenile training school; reform school; youth detention center (centre)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “reformatory”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 感化院 | かんかいん kankain | reformatory; reform school |
| 懲治監 | ちょうじかん choujikan | reformatory |
| 矯正院 | きょうせいいん kyouseiin | reformatory; house of correction |
| 矯正施設 | きょうせいしせつ kyouseishisetsu | correctional facility (for juveniles); juvenile detention centre (center); reformatory |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 少し | すこし sukoshi | a little; a bit; a small amount |
| 少年 | しょうねん shounen | boy |
| 少女 | しょうじょ shoujo | girl (usu. between 7 and 17); young lady |
| 少ない | すくない sukunai | few; little; small (amount) |
| 減少 | げんしょう genshou | decrease; reduction; decline |
| 多少 | たしょう tashou | a little; some; somewhat |
| 今年 | ことし kotoshi | this year |
| 年間 | ねんかん nenkan | (period of) a year |
| 病院 | びょういん byouin | hospital; clinic; doctor's office |
See also: Chinese symbol for “reformatory”.
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.