King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “reincarnation”

Romaji: tensei
reincarnation; rebirth; transmigration; metempsychosis

In Japanese, reincarnation is , read (tensei).

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, vi, vs reincarnation; rebirth; transmigration; metempsychosis

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

revolve, turn around, change
on: テン
kun: ころ.がる、ころ.げる、ころ.がす、ころ.ぶ
11 strokes · JLPT 3
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

Other Japanese words for “reincarnation”

WordReadingMeaning
さいせい saiseirebirth; reincarnation
うまれかわり umarekawarirebirth; reincarnation
さいらい sairaisecond coming (e.g. of Christ); second advent; reincarnation
りんね rinnebeing reborn; reincarnation
さいたん saitanrebirth; reincarnation

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
うんてん untenoperation (of a machine); running; working
じてんしゃ jitenshabicycle; bike
かいてん kaitenrotation; revolution; turn
いてん itenmoving; relocation; change of address
ぎゃくてん gyakutenreversal (of a situation); turnaround; turnabout
てんかん tenkanconversion; diversion; changeover
せいかつ seikatsulife; living
せんせい senseiteacher; instructor; master

See also: Chinese symbol for “reincarnation”.

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.

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