1 / 3
RA
螺
spiral · snail shell
✎ Editor's glossa spiral shell — anything shaped like one
Naruto · Ninjutsu · Kanji file 002
Rasengan 螺旋丸
Pronounced ra·sen·gan
Rasen (螺旋) means "spiral" — a swirling vortex. Sound familiar? It's the same word as Uzumaki, the hero's own name. 丸 is a sphere: picture a swirling spiral condensed into a ball. Tō no Sho describes it as chakra churned into wild rotation, compressed in the palm, and released as a sphere — and in the story, Naruto keeps inventing new Rasengan variations out of mid-battle inspiration. One point of Japanese to savor: the gan of Rasengan and the gan of Sharingan sound identical but are different kanji — one means a ball, the other an eye. To Japanese fans, it's the eye-gan that carries the romance.
Genius naming
📖 Databook: Tō no Sho, p. 282 · Jin no Sho, p. 306
Speed
Breaking down the kanji
Here's what each character means — and how to write it. In Japan, following the correct stroke order is considered the key to writing kanji beautifully. Readings, stroke counts and core meanings below come directly from the KANJIDIC2 dictionary database. The red ✎ line is the editor's gloss — the meaning that is actually alive in this name, chosen by our editors from a Japanese kanji dictionary.
2 / 3
SEN
旋
to rotate · to revolve
✎ Editor's glossto circle around and return
3 / 3
GAN
丸
round · sphere
✎ Editor's glossa sphere; round
What's next
Which term should we write next?
We write in order of demand. Every name and jutsu in the official databooks is listed in our Master Index — find the one you want, and tell us via the Contact page.
Original artwork — free to save
The kanji, on one sheet
A reference card we drew ourselves — the characters in Japanese brush style.
Quick answers
FAQ
What does Rasengan mean in Japanese?
“Spiraling sphere.” 螺旋 rasen is the ordinary Japanese word for a spiral or helix, and 丸 means a round thing — a sphere.
How do you pronounce Rasengan?
Say it ra·sen·gan (螺旋丸). Japanese has no strong word stress: give each syllable about the same length and weight, and keep the vowels short and clear — a as in “father,” i as in “machine,” u as in “food,” e as in “met,” o as in “go.”
How do you write Rasengan in Japanese?
螺旋丸 — 螺 (spiral shell) + 旋 (to rotate) + 丸 (sphere).
How many strokes is 螺旋丸?
31 in total: 螺 is 17, 旋 is 11, 丸 is 3. The animation above draws every stroke in dictionary order.
What characters make up Rasengan?
Rasengan is written 螺旋丸: 螺 (spiral · snail shell); 旋 (to rotate · to revolve); 丸 (round · sphere). Readings and meanings come from the KANJIDIC2 dictionary database.
Can I use the copied kanji anywhere?
Yes — it's standard Unicode text and works on any modern OS. One caution before you print or ink it: make sure the font is a Japanese one. Some fonts render the same characters in Chinese style, and the difference shows.