Japanese symbol for “sage”
哲
てつ
Romaji: tetsu
sage; wise man; philosopher; disciple
In Japanese, sage is 哲, read てつ (tetsu).
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 sage; wise man; philosopher; disciple
- adj-na, n sagacity; wisdom; intelligence
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sage”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 賢人 | けんじん kenjin | wise person; virtuous person; sage |
| 哲人 | てつじん tetsujin | wise man; philosopher; sage |
| 賢者 | けんじゃ kenja | wise person; sage |
| セージ | セージ seeji | sage |
| 聖人 | せいじん seijin | wise and virtuous person (esp. in Confucianism); great religious teacher; sage |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 哲学 | てつがく tetsugaku | philosophy |
| 哲人 | てつじん tetsujin | wise man; philosopher; sage |
| 変哲 | へんてつ hentetsu | something unusual; something odd; something out of the ordinary |
| 哲学的 | てつがくてき tetsugakuteki | philosophical |
| 哲理 | てつり tetsuri | philosophic principles; philosophy |
| 聖哲 | せいてつ seitetsu | wise man |
See also: Chinese symbol for “sage”.
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.