Japanese symbol for “spiral”
螺旋
らせん
Romaji: rasen
spiral; helix
In Japanese, spiral is 螺旋, read らせん (rasen).
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 spiral; helix
- n screw
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “spiral”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| スパイラル | スパイラル supairaru | spiral |
| 渦巻き | うずまき uzumaki | spiral (shape, pattern) |
| ループ | ループ ruupu | spiral; spiral loop |
| 渦状 | かじょう kajou | spiral |
| 渦巻き形 | うずまきがた uzumakigata | spiral (shape); swirl |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 螺子 | ねじ neji | screw |
| 螺鈿 | らでん raden | nacre; mother of pearl |
| 法螺 | ほら hora | boasting; bragging; big talk |
| 栄螺 | さざえ sazae | turban shell (any mollusc of the family Turbinidae, esp. the horned turban, Turbo cornutus) |
| 旋回 | せんかい senkai | revolution; rotation; turning |
| 旋律 | せんりつ senritsu | melody; tune |
| 斡旋 | あっせん assen | good offices; kind offices; services |
| 旋風 | せんぷう senpuu | whirlwind |
See also: Chinese symbol for “spiral”.
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.