Japanese symbol for “critical”
険悪
けんあく
Romaji: ken'aku
dangerous; perilous; threatening; stormy
In Japanese, critical is 険悪, read けんあく (ken'aku).
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 dangerous; perilous; threatening; stormy; volatile; tense
- adj-na, n stern (expression); hostile (attitude); sharp; harsh
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “critical”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 重い | おもい omoi | serious (punishment, illness, etc.); severe; critical |
| クリティカル | クリティカル kuritikaru | critical |
| 臨界 | りんかい rinkai | critical (mass, pressure, temperature, state, point, etc.) |
| 危ない | あぶない abunai | in danger; in jeopardy; critical |
| 批判的 | ひはんてき hihanteki | critical; judgmental; censorious |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 危険 | きけん kiken | danger; peril; hazard |
| 保険 | ほけん hoken | insurance |
| 冒険 | ぼうけん bouken | adventure; venture |
| 険しい | けわしい kewashii | precipitous; rugged; inaccessible |
| 邪険 | じゃけん jaken | cruel; hard-hearted; harsh |
| 最悪 | さいあく saiaku | worst |
| 悪口 | わるぐち waruguchi | (verbal) abuse; speaking ill of people; bad-mouthing |
| 悪化 | あっか akka | deterioration; getting worse; worsening |
See also: Chinese symbol for “critical”.
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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