Japanese symbol for “regrowth”

再生

さいせい

Romaji: saisei

restoration to life; coming to life again; resuscitation; regeneration

In Japanese, regrowth is 再生, read さいせい (saisei).

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, vi, vs restoration to life; coming to life again; resuscitation; regeneration
n, vi, vs reformation; rehabilitation
n, vs, vt recycling; reclamation; recovery
n, vs, vt playback; regeneration (of video or sound); views (of an online video)
n, vi, vs regeneration (of lost or damaged tissue); regrowth (biol)
n, vs, vt rebirth; reincarnation

Kanji and stroke order

再

again, twice, second time

on: サイ、サ
kun: ふたた.び

6 strokes · JLPT 2

生

life, genuine, birth

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: い.きる、い.かす、い.ける、う.まれる

5 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
再び	ふたたび futatabi	again; once more; a second time
再開	さいかい saikai	reopening; resumption; restarting
再建	さいけん saiken	rebuilding; reconstruction; rehabilitation
再度	さいど saido	a second time; again; once more
再会	さいかい saikai	meeting again; reunion
生活	せいかつ seikatsu	life; living
先生	せんせい sensei	teacher; instructor; master
人生	じんせい jinsei	(one's) life

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.