Meaning & readings

stamp, seal, mark, imprint, symbol, emblem, trademark, evidence, souvenir, India

On’yomi イン
Kun’yomi しるし、-じるし、しる.す

Origin

This character appears to be a simplified picture of a seal or stamp. The shape shows a square frame (representing the solid block of a seal) with a mark or dot in the center (representing the impression it makes). In ancient China and Japan, seals were important tools for marking documents and creating official stamps, so the visual form of the character naturally came to mean stamp, seal, mark, or imprint. Over time, the meaning expanded to include any kind of symbol or emblem that serves as a mark of authenticity or identification.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.

6 strokes

Components

This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (印).

  • meaning part

Common words

  • 印鑑 いんかん stamp; seal
  • 印刷 いんさつ printing
  • 印紙 いんし (revenue) stamp
  • 印象 いんしょう impression
  • 印税 いんぜい royalty (on book)
  • 朱印 しゅいん red seal
  • 調印 ちょういん signature; signing
  • 目印 めじるし mark (for quick identification or recognition); sign

Reference

Strokes
6
Kangxi radical
26
Grade
Grade 4 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#682 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+05370