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Kanji for Jasmine

The kanji most commonly used for "Jasmine" are 茉、莉.

Kanji that mean Jasmine

  • jasmine

    Also associated with fragrant.

    Onyomi: batsu, ma, matsu 8 strokes Jinmeiyō

  • jasmine

    Also associated with fragrant.

    Onyomi: rai, rei, ri 10 strokes Jinmeiyō

Jasmine in kanji is a pair: 茉莉 (matsuri) — two characters that exist almost solely to spell this flower, both wearing the grass crown 艹. Jasmine tea is 茉莉花茶 in the Chinese manner; everyday Japanese usually says ジャスミン in katakana, which leaves 茉莉 as the elegant, literary spelling.

That rarity made both characters treasures of the name registry. 莉 in particular is among the most popular girls’ name kanji of recent decades — Riko (莉子), Yuri (友莉), Airi (愛莉) — chosen for its soft ri sound and its scent of jasmine. 茉 supplies Mari (茉莉), Mao (茉央) and more. Both are Jinmeiyō characters: approved for names, and used for little else.

A flower so foreign it needed imported characters, which then became some of Japan’s best-loved name elements — 茉莉 is a small story of how the writing system adopts what it loves.

Before you use Jasmine kanji

茉莉 as a pair is the proper spelling of jasmine — delicate, rare, and perfumed with name associations rather than any negative sense. A single 莉 or 茉 alone reads as a name fragment, not a word; use both characters together if you mean the flower.

Other meanings to explore

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