Japanese symbol for “substitution”
代替
だいたい
Romaji: daitai
substitution
In Japanese, substitution is 代替, read だいたい (daitai).
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, vs, vt substitution
- adj-no alternative; substitute
Written forms: 代替、代替え. Readings: だいたい、だいがえ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “substitution”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 交換 | こうかん koukan | exchange; interchange; switching |
| 代用 | だいよう daiyou | substitution |
| 交代 | こうたい koutai | change; alternation; rotation |
| 代 | しろ shiro | substitution |
| 身代わり | みがわり migawari | substitution (for someone else); substitute; stand-in |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 時代 | じだい jidai | period; epoch; era |
| 代表 | だいひょう daihyou | representation; representative; delegate |
| 現代 | げんだい gendai | present age; present day; contemporary |
| 代わり | かわり kawari | substitute; replacement; substituting |
| 世代 | せだい sedai | generation |
| 年代 | ねんだい nendai | age; era; period |
| 為替 | かわせ kawase | money order; draft |
| 替え | かえ kae | change; alteration |
See also: Chinese symbol for “substitution”.
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.