King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “apathetic”

Romaji: reitan
cool; indifferent; apathetic; half-hearted

In Japanese, apathetic is , read (reitan).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. adj-na, n cool; indifferent; apathetic; half-hearted
  2. adj-na, n cold; cold-hearted; heartless; unkind

Kanji and stroke order

cool, cold (beer, person), chill
on: レイ
kun: つめ.たい、ひ.える、ひ.や、ひ.ややか
7 strokes · JLPT 2
thin, faint, pale
on: タン
kun: あわ.い
11 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “apathetic”

WordReadingMeaning
むかんしん mukanshinapathetic; indifferent; nonchalant
だじゃく dajakuapathetic; lackadaisical; indolent
むかんかく mukankakuapathetic; insensitive; indifferent
むじかく mujikakuunaware; unmindful; unconscious
おざなり ozanariperfunctory; apathetic; makeshift

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
れいせい reiseicalmness; composure; coolness
れいぞうこ reizoukorefrigerator; fridge
れいとう reitoufreezing; cold storage; refrigeration
れいせん reisencold war; the Cold War
れいぼう reibouair conditioning; air cooling
つめたい tsumetaicold (to the touch); chilly; icy
たんたん tantanuninterested; unconcerned; indifferent
たんぱく tanpakulight (flavor, color, etc.); simple; plain

See also: Chinese symbol for “apathetic”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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