Japanese symbol for “cringing”
ドン引き
どんびき
Romaji: donbiki
being put off (by someone's words, behaviour, etc.); being taken aback; recoiling (in shock, disgust, etc.); cringing
In Japanese, cringing is ドン引き, read どんびき (donbiki).
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, vi, vs being put off (by someone's words, behaviour, etc.); being taken aback; recoiling (in shock, disgust, etc.); cringing; being left speechless
- n, vi, vs zooming out or pulling the camera back to get a wider image (film, tv)
Written forms: ドン引き、どん引き. Readings: どんびき、ドンビキ.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 取引 | とりひき torihiki | transactions; dealings; business |
| 引退 | いんたい intai | retirement |
| 割引 | わりびき waribiki | discount; reduction; rebate |
| 引き続き | ひきつづき hikitsuzuki | continuously; continually; without a break |
| 引用 | いんよう in'you | quotation; citation; reference |
| 引っ越し | ひっこし hikkoshi | moving (dwelling, office, etc.); changing residence |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cringing”.
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.