Japanese symbol for “subway”
地下鉄
ちかてつ
Romaji: chikatetsu
subway; metro; underground (railway)
In Japanese, subway is 地下鉄, read ちかてつ (chikatetsu).
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 subway; metro; underground (railway)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “subway”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| メトロ | メトロ metoro | metro; subway; underground railway |
| 地下鉄道 | ちかてつどう chikatetsudou | subway; metro; underground railway |
| サブウェイ | サブウェイ sabuwei | subway |
| サブウェイ | サブウェイ sabuwei | Subway (fast food chain) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 地域 | ちいき chiiki | area; region; district |
| 地球 | ちきゅう chikyuu | Earth; the globe |
| 地方 | ちほう chihou | district; region; area |
| 地元 | じもと jimoto | home area; home town |
| 地震 | じしん jishin | earthquake |
| 土地 | とち tochi | plot of land; lot; soil |
| 以下 | いか ika | not exceeding ...; not more than ...; ... and under |
| 地下 | ちか chika | underground; below the ground |
| 鉄道 | てつどう tetsudou | railroad; railway; rail transport |
See also: Chinese symbol for “subway”.
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.