Japanese symbol for “whole”
全体
ぜんたい
Romaji: zentai
whole; entirety
In Japanese, whole is 全体, read ぜんたい (zentai).
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
- adj-no, adv, n whole; entirety
- adv to begin with; in the first place
- adv ... the heck (e.g. "what the heck?"); ... in the world (e.g. "why in the world?"); ... on earth (e.g. "who on earth?")
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “whole”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 全身 | ぜんしん zenshin | whole (body); full-length (e.g. portrait) |
| 全般 | ぜんぱん zenpan | (the) whole |
| 全部 | ぜんぶ zenbu | all; entire; whole |
| 一切 | いっさい issai | all; everything; entirety |
| 総 | そう sou | whole; total; gross |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 全部 | ぜんぶ zenbu | all; entire; whole |
| 全員 | ぜんいん zen'in | all members; all hands; everyone |
| 安全 | あんぜん anzen | safety; security |
| 完全 | かんぜん kanzen | perfect; complete |
| 全国 | ぜんこく zenkoku | the whole country |
| 団体 | だんたい dantai | group; party; team |
| 体験 | たいけん taiken | (practical) experience; personal experience; hands-on experience |
| 一体 | いったい ittai | (what) the heck; (why) in the world; (who) on earth |
See also: Chinese symbol for “whole”.
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.