Japanese symbol for “shift”

交代

こうたい

Romaji: koutai

change; alternation; rotation; replacement

In Japanese, shift is 交代, read こうたい (koutai).

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 change; alternation; rotation; replacement; substitution; shift

Written forms: 交代、交替. Readings: こうたい、こうだい.

Kanji and stroke order

交

mingle, mixing, association

on: コウ
kun: まじ.わる、まじ.える、ま.じる、まじ.る

6 strokes · JLPT 2

代

substitute, change, convert

on: ダイ、タイ
kun: か.わる、かわ.る、かわ.り、か.わり

5 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “shift”

Word	Reading	Meaning
動かす	うごかす ugokasu	to move; to shift; to stir
移行	いこう ikou	transition; changeover; switchover
推移	すいい suii	transition; change; progress
シフト	シフト shifuto	shift; move
動く	うごく ugoku	to move; to stir; to shift

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
交換	こうかん koukan	exchange; interchange; switching
交通	こうつう koutsuu	traffic; transportation
交渉	こうしょう koushou	negotiations; bargaining; discussions
交流	こうりゅう kouryuu	exchange (e.g. cultural); interchange; interaction
外交	がいこう gaikou	diplomacy
時代	じだい jidai	period; epoch; era
代表	だいひょう daihyou	representation; representative; delegate
現代	げんだい gendai	present age; present day; contemporary

See also: Chinese symbol for “shift”.

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.