Japanese symbol for “shi”

地水師

ちすいし

Romaji: chisuishi

shi (hexagram 7 of the I Ching: the army)

In Japanese, shi is 地水師, read ちすいし (chisuishi).

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 shi (hexagram 7 of the I Ching: the army)

Kanji and stroke order

地

ground, earth

on: チ、ジ

6 strokes · JLPT 3

水

water

on: スイ
kun: みず、みず-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

師

expert, teacher, master

on: シ
kun: いくさ

10 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
地域	ちいき chiiki	area; region; district
地球	ちきゅう chikyuu	Earth; the globe
地方	ちほう chihou	district; region; area
地元	じもと jimoto	home area; home town
地震	じしん jishin	earthquake
土地	とち tochi	plot of land; lot; soil
水着	みずぎ mizugi	bathing suit; swimsuit; swimmers
水準	すいじゅん suijun	level; standard
教師	きょうし kyoushi	teacher; instructor

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.