Japanese symbol for “cleverness”
妙
みょう
Romaji: myou
strange; weird; odd; curious
In Japanese, cleverness is 妙, read みょう (myou).
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 strange; weird; odd; curious
- adj-na, n wonder; mystery; miracle; excellence
- adj-na, n cleverness; adroitness; knack; skill
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cleverness”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 巧者 | こうしゃ kousha | cleverness; skill; tact |
| 利根 | りこん rikon | intelligence; cleverness; innate aptitude |
| 巧 | こう kou | skilfulness; skillfulness; cleverness |
| 小才 | しょうさい shousai | cleverness |
| 機巧 | きこう kikou | trick; contrivance; cleverness |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 微妙 | びみょう bimyou | subtle; delicate; fine |
| 奇妙 | きみょう kimyou | strange; odd; peculiar |
| 巧妙 | こうみょう koumyou | ingenious; skillful; clever |
| 絶妙 | ぜつみょう zetsumyou | exquisite; superb; perfect |
| 妙案 | みょうあん myouan | ingenious idea; excellent plan; bright idea |
| 神妙 | しんみょう shinmyou | meek; quiet; docile |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cleverness”.
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.