Japanese symbol for “shoulders”
肩身
かたみ
Romaji: katami
shoulders; body
In Japanese, shoulders is 肩身, read かたみ (katami).
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 shoulders; body
- n honour; honor; prestige; face
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “shoulders”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 双肩 | そうけん souken | shoulders |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 肩書き | かたがき katagaki | title (e.g. Doctor, Professor, Lord); job title; position (in a company) |
| 肩代わり | かたがわり katagawari | taking over (another's debt, work); shouldering someone else's burden; subrogation |
| 肩こり | かたこり katakori | stiff neck; stiff shoulders |
| 路肩 | ろかた rokata | shoulder (of a road); berm |
| 肩幅 | かたはば katahaba | shoulder width (breadth) |
| 自身 | じしん jishin | (one's) self; oneself; yourself |
| 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 |
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.