King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “regard”

Romaji: sonchou
respect; esteem; regard

In Japanese, regard is , read (sonchou).

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, vs, vt respect; esteem; regard

Kanji and stroke order

revered, valuable, precious
on: ソン
kun: たっと.い、とうと.い、たっと.ぶ、とうと.ぶ
12 strokes · JLPT 2
heavy, important, esteem
on: ジュウ、チョウ
kun: え、おも.い、おも.り、おも.なう
9 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “regard”

WordReadingMeaning
おもいやり omoiyariconsideration; thoughtfulness; sympathy
おもう omouto judge; to assess; to regard
かんがえる kangaeruto consider (as); to regard (as); to look on (as)
みなす minasuto regard (as); to consider (to be); to deem
おぼえる oboeruto think; to regard

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
そんけい sonkeirespect; esteem; reverence
そんげん songendignity; majesty; sanctity
ほんぞん honzonprincipal object of worship (at a Buddhist temple); principal image
じそん jisonself-respect; esteem; self-importance
だんそんじょひ dansonjohimale domination of women; male chauvinism; subjection of women
じゅうよう juuyouimportant; essential; significant
たいじゅう taijuu(body) weight
きちょう kichouprecious; valuable

See also: Chinese symbol for “regard”.

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.