Japanese symbol for “starfish”
海星
ひとで
Romaji: hitode
starfish; sea star; asteroid (any echinoderm of the class Asteroidea)
In Japanese, starfish is 海星, read ひとで (hitode).
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 starfish; sea star; asteroid (any echinoderm of the class Asteroidea)
- n northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis)
Written forms: 海星、人手、海盤車. Readings: ひとで、ヒトデ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “starfish”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鮪 | まぐろ maguro | dead fish (person who is unresponsive or passive during sex); starfish |
| マグロ女 | まぐろおんな maguroonna | dead fish (woman who is unresponsive during sex); starfish |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海外 | かいがい kaigai | foreign; abroad; overseas |
| 海岸 | かいがん kaigan | seashore; coast; seaside |
| 海軍 | かいぐん kaigun | navy; naval force |
| 北海道 | ほっかいどう hokkaidou | Hokkaido (island, prefectural-level administrative unit) |
| 海上 | かいじょう kaijou | (on the) sea; surface of the sea |
| 海洋 | かいよう kaiyou | ocean; sea |
| 衛星 | えいせい eisei | (natural) satellite; moon |
| 火星 | かせい kasei | Mars (planet) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “starfish”.
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.