Japanese symbol for “sky”
天
てん
Romaji: ten
sky
In Japanese, sky is 天, read てん (ten).
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 sky
- n heaven (Christn)
- n God
- n svarga (heaven-like realm visited as a stage of death and rebirth) (Buddh)
- n deva (divine being of Buddhism) (Buddh)
- n top (of a book)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sky”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上空 | じょうくう joukuu | sky; the skies; high-altitude sky |
| 空 | そら sora | sky; the air; the heavens |
| 空中 | くうちゅう kuuchuu | (in) the air; midair; sky |
| 天空 | てんくう tenkuu | sky; air; ether |
| スカイ | スカイ sukai | sky |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 天皇 | てんのう tennou | Emperor of Japan |
| 天気 | てんき tenki | weather |
| 天才 | てんさい tensai | genius; prodigy; natural gift |
| 天然 | てんねん tennen | nature; spontaneity |
| 天国 | てんごく tengoku | paradise; heaven; Kingdom of Heaven |
| 天井 | てんじょう tenjou | ceiling |
See also: Chinese symbol for “sky”.
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.