Japanese symbol for “astute”
機敏
きびん
Romaji: kibin
quick; prompt; alert; smart
In Japanese, astute is 機敏, read きびん (kibin).
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
- adj-na, n quick; prompt; alert; smart; clever; astute
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “astute”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鋭い | するどい surudoi | keen (intuition, sense of smell, etc.); acute; sharp (eye, mind, etc.) |
| 鋭敏 | えいびん eibin | sharp-witted; shrewd; clever |
| 老獪 | ろうかい roukai | cunning (acquired with age); astute; crafty |
| 剃刀 | かみそり kamisori | razor-sharp (mind, intellect, etc.); keen; astute |
| がっちり | がっちり gatchiri | shrewd; calculating; astute |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 機能 | きのう kinou | function; facility; faculty |
| 機関 | きかん kikan | engine |
| 機会 | きかい kikai | chance; opportunity; occasion |
| 機械 | きかい kikai | machine; mechanism |
| 危機 | きき kiki | crisis; critical situation; emergency |
| 機構 | きこう kikou | mechanism; machinery |
| 敏感 | びんかん binkan | sensitive; alert; aware |
| 過敏 | かびん kabin | nervousness; oversensitivity |
See also: Chinese symbol for “astute”.
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.