Japanese symbol for “self”
自身
じしん
Romaji: jishin
(one's) self; oneself; yourself; himself
In Japanese, self is 自身, read じしん (jishin).
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, n-suf (one's) self; oneself; yourself; himself; herself
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “self”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自己 | じこ jiko | self; oneself |
| 自我 | じが jiga | self |
| 小我 | しょうが shouga | the self; the ego |
| 我 | が ga | atman; the self; the ego |
| 主我 | しゅが shuga | ego; self |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自分 | じぶん jibun | myself; yourself; oneself |
| 自由 | じゆう jiyuu | freedom; liberty |
| 自然 | しぜん shizen | nature |
| 自己 | じこ jiko | self; oneself |
| 自動 | じどう jidou | automatic |
| 出身 | しゅっしん shusshin | one's origin (e.g. city, country, parentage, school) |
| 中身 | なかみ nakami | contents; interior; filling |
| 身長 | しんちょう shinchou | height (of a person); stature |
See also: Chinese symbol for “self”.
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.