羅針盤(らしんばん)

The traditional Japanese word for a magnetic compass, composed of 羅(ら) (net, gauze), 針(しん) (needle), and 盤(ばん) (plate, board). Commonly used both literally for navigation and figuratively for guidance.

Common collocations

• 人生(じんせい)の羅針盤(らしんばん): compass of one's life; guiding principle
• 道徳(どうとく)の羅針盤(らしんばん): moral compass
• 羅針盤(らしんばん)を失(うしな)う: to lose one's compass; to lose direction

Similar words

• コンパス: compass — the loanword, used more casually and also for a drawing compass
• 方位磁針(ほういじしん): compass needle — the technical term
• 指針(ししん): guiding principle — figurative sense only; used for policies or guiding ideas

Etymology

The character 羅(ら) originally referred to a silk net or fabric; 羅針(らしん) means 'a needle on a silk-covered plate,' referring to early compass designs. The word entered Japanese from Chinese maritime terminology.