Japanese symbol for “silk”
絹
きぬ
Romaji: kinu
silk
In Japanese, silk is 絹, read きぬ (kinu).
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 silk
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “silk”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| シルク | シルク shiruku | silk |
| 絹布 | けんぷ kenpu | silk; silk cloth |
| 帛 | はく haku | silk |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 絹糸 | きぬいと kinuito | silk thread; silk yarn |
| 絹織物 | きぬおりもの kinuorimono | silk goods |
| 絹布 | けんぷ kenpu | silk; silk cloth |
| 正絹 | しょうけん shouken | pure silk |
| 絹ごし | きぬごし kinugoshi | filtering through silk cloth; straining through silk cloth |
| 絹本 | けんぽん kenpon | silk canvas; artwork on silk |
See also: Chinese symbol for “silk”.
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.