Japanese symbol for “warship”
艦
かん
Romaji: kan
warship
In Japanese, warship is 艦, read かん (kan).
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, n-suf warship
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “warship”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 軍艦 | ぐんかん gunkan | warship; battleship |
| 軍船 | ぐんせん gunsen | warship |
| 兵船 | へいせん heisen | warship |
| 艨艟 | もうどう moudou | warship |
| 浮城 | ふじょう fujou | floating fortress; warship |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 艦隊 | かんたい kantai | (naval) fleet; armada |
| 軍艦 | ぐんかん gunkan | warship; battleship |
| 戦艦 | せんかん senkan | battleship |
| 艦長 | かんちょう kanchou | captain (of a warship) |
| 艦船 | かんせん kansen | warships and other vessels |
| 艦艇 | かんてい kantei | naval vessels; warships |
See also: Chinese symbol for “warship”.
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.