Japanese symbol for “bearings”

見当

けんとう

Romaji: kentou

estimate; guess; conjecture; aim

In Japanese, bearings is 見当, read けんとう (kentou).

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

n estimate; guess; conjecture; aim
n direction; bearings
n registration mark (printing)
n-suf approximately; about; around

Kanji and stroke order

見

see, hopes, chances

on: ケン
kun: み.る、み.える、み.せる

7 strokes · JLPT 4

当

hit, right, appropriate

on: トウ
kun: あ.たる、あ.たり、あ.てる、あ.て

6 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
見る	みる miru	to see; to look; to watch
発見	はっけん hakken	discovery; detection; finding
意見	いけん iken	opinion; view; comment
見える	みえる mieru	to be seen; to be visible; to be in sight
見かけ	みかけ mikake	outward appearance
会見	かいけん kaiken	interview; audience; meeting
本当	ほんとう hontou	truth; reality; actuality
当時	とうじ touji	at that time; in those days

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.