Japanese symbol for “discerning”
鋭い
するどい
Romaji: surudoi
sharp (knife, claws, etc.); pointed
In Japanese, discerning is 鋭い, read するどい (surudoi).
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-i sharp (knife, claws, etc.); pointed
- adj-i sharp (pain, tone, etc.); acute; stabbing; cutting (remark, criticism, etc.); stinging; biting
- adj-i keen (intuition, sense of smell, etc.); acute; sharp (eye, mind, etc.); astute; shrewd; discerning
Written forms: 鋭い、尖い. Readings: するどい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “discerning”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 具眼 | ぐがん gugan | discerning |
| 高感度 | こうかんど koukando | discerning; discriminating; of refined tastes |
| 聡い | さとい satoi | sharp (ear, etc.); sensitive; discerning |
| 心ある | こころある kokoroaru | having good taste; discerning; refined |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 新鋭 | しんえい shin'ei | young and energetic; up-and-coming; new and excellent |
| 鋭利 | えいり eiri | sharp; keen; acute |
| 精鋭 | せいえい seiei | elite; best; pick |
| 鋭角 | えいかく eikaku | acute angle |
| 鋭敏 | えいびん eibin | sharp (eyes, ears, etc.); keen; acute |
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.