One way to write Matthew in kanji — with meanings you choose yourself, in the Japanese ateji (当て字) tradition.
Matthew sounds like ma · shu in Japanese. Matching each sound to a kanji gives 真珠 — one of 12 possible kanji spellings of Matthew. Every character below shares the sound but carries a different meaning, so the final choice is yours.
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| Sound | Kanji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ma | 真 | truth |
| shu | 珠 | pearl |
Pick a different character for any syllable — love, dreams, strength, light — and the art updates instantly in the generator.
“ma” — 4 kanji to choose from
“shu” — 3 kanji to choose from
真珠 makes striking vertical calligraphy — a popular choice for a kanji name tattoo, a personalised Japanese name gift, or framed wall art. Because you can read this page, you (and your tattoo artist) know exactly what each character means — no mystery kanji.
There is no single official kanji for Matthew. This is one sound-based ateji (当て字) option: 真珠, read "ma-shu", with the meanings "truth · pearl". You can swap a character for another with the same sound: Matthew has 12 possible kanji spellings in this generator.
Yes — 真珠 is a phonetic ateji spelling of Matthew, and each character's meaning is listed on this page, so you know exactly what your tattoo says. For stroke-accurate line work, generate the free art below and bring the high-resolution version to your artist.
Character by character, 真珠 reads 真 ("truth", read "ma"), 珠 ("pearl", read "shu"). Together they sound like "Matthew" while carrying the meanings truth · pearl.