shamisen

S1H4A1M3I1S1E1N1
/ˈʃæmɪsɛn/

noun

A kind of three-stringed Japanese fretless lute.

Similar
jamisenjabisensangensamisen
OriginJapanese 三味線 →
UncommonScrabble 13
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounshamisen (plural shamisens or shamisen)

plural shamisens · alternative samisen · alternative syamisen

  1. entertainmentA kind of three-stringed Japanese fretless lute.

    Synonyms: jamisen, jabisen, sangen

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA kind of three-stringed Japanese fretless lute.

Similar
jamisenjabisensangen

More synonyms by meaning

nouna Japanese stringed instrument resembling a banjo with a long neck and three strings and a fretless fingerboard and a rectangular soundbox; played with a plectrum

Similar
samisen
Broader
stringed instrument
Also see
sangen

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Japanese三味線
  2. Englishshamisen

From Japanese 三味線 (shamisen).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic شَامِيسِين
  • شَامِيسِين (šāmīsīn)a Japanese musical instrument
Chinese Mandarin 三味線 /三味线
  • 三味線 /三味线 (sānwèixiàn)a Japanese musical instrument
Esperanto ŝamiseno
  • ŝamisenoa Japanese musical instrument
Finnish shamisen
  • shamisena Japanese musical instrument
French jabisen
  • jabisena Japanese musical instrument
Irish seamasan
  • seamasana Japanese musical instrument
Japanese 三味線, 三味線
  • 三味線 (shamisen)a Japanese musical instrument
  • 三味線 (samisen)a Japanese musical instrument
Korean 샤미센
  • 샤미센 (syamisen)a Japanese musical instrument
Russian сямисэ́н
  • сямисэ́н (sjamisɛ́n)a Japanese musical instrument
Turkish şamisen
  • şamisena Japanese musical instrument
Vietnamese đàn tam
  • đàn tama Japanese musical instrument
Cite this entry
APA

shamisen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shamisen

MLA

“shamisen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shamisen. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shamisen,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shamisen.

Source: shamisen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.