King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “checks”

Romaji: benkei
strong person; person putting on a brave front

In Japanese, checks is , read (benkei).

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. n strong person; person putting on a brave front
  2. n bamboo tube with holes drilled in it (used as a stand for kitchen utensils, fans, etc.)
  3. n checks; plaid; checked pattern

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

valve, petal, braid
on: ベン、ヘン
kun: かんむり、わきま.える、わ.ける、はなびら
5 strokes · JLPT 1
jubilation, congratulate, rejoice
on: ケイ
kun: よろこ.び
15 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “checks”

WordReadingMeaning
べんけいじま benkeijimachecks; plaid; checked pattern
いちまつもよう ichimatsumoyouchecked pattern; chequered pattern; checks

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
べんごし bengoshilawyer; attorney
べんとう bentoubento; Japanese box lunch
べんご bengodefense; defence; pleading
とうべん toubenresponse; reply; answer
べんめい benmeiexplanation; excuse; clarification
べんろん benrondiscussion; debate; argument
けいじ keijihappy event; auspicious event; matter for congratulation
けいちょう keichoucongratulations and condolences

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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