Star in Japanese is 星, said hoshi. Nine strokes, built from 日 (sun) on top and 生 below. The on’yomi are セイ (sei) and ショウ (shou), and both are common in compounds. Written in hiragana it is ほし, and in katakana ホシ.
Star in Japanese
Star in Japanese is 星, and the spoken word is hoshi. It covers the same ground English does: the point of light in the night sky, a shape drawn with five points, and a star rating on a review.
The on’yomi セイ (sei) does the astronomical work: 惑星 (wakusei, planet), 衛星 (eisei, satellite), 星座 (seiza, constellation). ショウ (shou) is rarer and surfaces in older words such as 明星 (myoujou, the morning star, Venus). And when hoshi sits at the end of a native compound it voices to -boshi, which is why a shooting star is 流れ星 (nagareboshi) and not nagarehoshi.
The Kanji for Star: 星
- Character: 星
- On’yomi: セイ (sei), ショウ (shou)
- Kun’yomi: ほし (hoshi), -ぼし (-boshi)
- Stroke count: 9
- General meaning: star, spot, dot, mark
- Radical: 日 (sun, day), Kangxi radical 72
Japanese Symbol for Star
星 is a phono-semantic compound with an unusually good backstory, because the meaning half used to be a picture of the actual thing.
The oldest forms of this character carried 晶 on top, three small squares that stood for twinkling points of light in the sky. Over time those three shrank to one, and the character settled into 日, the sun element, as the marker for anything bright and celestial. So the sun on top of 星 is a compressed constellation rather than a literal sun.
The lower element is 生 (sei), meaning to live, to be born, to grow. It is there for the sound. There is a temptation to read it as stars being born, and it is a lovely idea, but it is not what the character is doing. 生 supplied the pronunciation and the etymology stops there.
The secondary meanings, spot and mark, come from the shape of a star rather than its light. That is why 図星 (zuboshi) means a bullseye and, by extension, hitting the nail on the head.
How to Write 星 in Japanese
Nine strokes, top element before bottom, which is the standard order for any stacked kanji.
日 comes first in four strokes: the short vertical on the left, then the stroke that forms the top and turns down the right side, then the horizontal inside, then the closing line at the bottom. Keep it small and slightly narrow, because it is sitting on top of a wider element.
生 follows in five. It ends with a long horizontal that runs wider than anything above it, and that final stroke is what anchors the character. Write it last and write it long. If it is shortened to match the width of 日, the whole character looks like it is toppling forward.
The spacing to watch is between the bottom of 日 and the first stroke of 生. Nine strokes stacked in one square need that gap, and it is the first thing to close up when the character is written quickly.
How to Say Star in Japanese
Hoshi is two even beats: “hoh-shee.” The o is short, as in “or,” and the sh is exactly the English sh. Neither beat takes stress, and the plural is the same word.
Real sentences:
- 星がきれいですね。(Hoshi ga kirei desu ne.) The stars are beautiful.
- 今夜は星がよく見える。(Kon’ya wa hoshi ga yoku mieru.) You can see the stars well tonight.
- 流れ星に願い事をした。(Nagareboshi ni negaigoto o shita.) I made a wish on a shooting star.
- 星空の下で歩きました。(Hoshizora no shita de arukimashita.) We walked under the starry sky.
- それは図星です。(Sore wa zuboshi desu.) You have hit the nail on the head.
Words and Compounds With 星
- 星座 (seiza): a constellation. This is also the word used for a star sign.
- 流れ星 (nagareboshi): a shooting star, a meteor.
- 星空 (hoshizora): a starry sky.
- 惑星 (wakusei): a planet, literally a wandering star.
- 衛星 (eisei): a satellite, natural or artificial, literally a guarding star.
- 火星 (kasei): Mars, literally fire star. The planets are almost all built this way.
- 明星 (myoujou): the morning star, Venus. Also used of a rising talent.
- 星屑 (hoshikuzu): stardust, literally star scraps, meaning the countless small stars of the night sky.
- 一番星 (ichibanboshi): the first star of the evening.
- 図星 (zuboshi): a bullseye, and figuratively an exactly correct guess.
That planetary set is worth noticing. 火星 is fire star, 水星 (suisei) is water star for Mercury, 木星 (mokusei) is tree star for Jupiter. The five classical elements name the five visible planets, which means anyone who knows a handful of basic kanji can read the solar system.
Star in Japanese Culture
The star festival is where 星 lives hardest in Japanese life. Tanabata (七夕) tells the story of Orihime, the weaving princess, and Hikoboshi, the cowherd, separated across the Milky Way and permitted to meet one night a year. The two are the stars Vega and Altair, and Hikoboshi’s name carries 星 inside it: 彦星, the young man star.
People write wishes on strips of coloured paper called 短冊 (tanzaku) and tie them to bamboo. Most of Japan keeps the festival on 7 July; Sendai holds the country’s most famous version from 6 to 8 August, one of the three great summer festivals of the Tohoku region.
流れ星 carries the same wish-making custom that shooting stars carry in the West, and it appears constantly in song lyrics and titles. 星 is also a common element in given names, especially for girls, where it can be read hoshi, sei, or given non-standard name readings, and it is a favourite in modern naming for exactly the reason you would expect.
If the night sky as a whole draws you rather than the stars in it, the moon has a deeper seat in Japanese tradition. The autumn moon-viewing ritual of tsukimi is the classic case, and there is no equivalent festival for star-viewing outside Tanabata.
As a Tattoo
星 is a safe and genuinely attractive choice. The meaning is unambiguous, the shape is balanced, and at nine strokes it is dense enough to read as a character rather than a mark but open enough to survive at moderate sizes.
Know what it says, though. 星 is the plain noun. It means star, the object. It does not mean guidance, destiny, or being someone’s star, all of which the English word carries and the Japanese character does not. If the sentiment matters more than the object, 希望 (kibou) is hope in Japanese and says the thing directly.
Check any second character before adding one. 星 forms real dictionary words, not free-floating combinations. 図星 (zuboshi) is a bullseye, 明星 (myoujou) is Venus, 星屑 (hoshikuzu) is stardust and reads slightly wistful. All are fine; none is generic.
On script: 星 is written identically in Japanese, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese, so there is no wrong regional form here. Only the sound changes, from hoshi to xīng in Mandarin.
The one part that needs room is the 日 element on top, whose interior line closes up as ink settles. Keep the character above thumbnail size and the long bottom stroke of 生 clearly wider than everything above it, or the balance goes.
Confirm with a native speaker before you ink. You can preview the character in vertical and horizontal layouts with the Japanese Tattoo Generator, and read the wider background in our guide to japanese tattoo meanings.
Related Kanji
FAQ
How do you say star in Japanese?
You say hoshi, written 星. Two flat beats, “hoh-shee,” with no stress on either and no separate plural. In compounds it voices to -boshi, as in 流れ星 (nagareboshi, shooting star). The on’yomi sei handles astronomy: 惑星 (wakusei, planet), 星座 (seiza, constellation).
What is the kanji for star?
The kanji for star is 星, nine strokes. It stacks 日, the sun radical, Kangxi number 72, on top of 生, which supplies the sound. The 日 is a compressed form of an older element, 晶, that drew three twinkling points of light. Its readings are ほし (hoshi), セイ (sei), and ショウ (shou).
What is the Japanese symbol for star?
星 is the written symbol. Its top element began as a picture of stars in the sky before shrinking to the single sun square, so unlike most kanji there really is a star buried in the shape. It also carries the secondary meanings of spot and mark, as in 図星 (zuboshi, bullseye).
How do you write hoshi in Japanese?
Three ways, all correct in context. 星 is the kanji and the standard written form. ほし is hiragana, used in casual and soft writing. ホシ is katakana, seen in branding and titles. Our guide to hiragana vs katakana explains when each fits.
Is 星 the same character in Chinese?
Yes. 星 is written identically in Japanese, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese, so there is no regional form to avoid. Only the reading changes: hoshi or sei in Japanese, xīng in Mandarin. The meaning of star carries across all three writing systems unchanged.
What is the Japanese star festival?
Tanabata (七夕), the star festival, marks the one night a year when Orihime and Hikoboshi, the stars Vega and Altair, can meet across the Milky Way. People write wishes on paper strips called 短冊 (tanzaku) and hang them on bamboo. Most of Japan celebrates on 7 July, while Sendai holds its famous version from 6 to 8 August.