King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “empathy”

Romaji: kyoukan
sympathy; empathy; response; identification (with someone)

In Japanese, empathy is , read (kyoukan).

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, vi, vs sympathy; empathy; response; identification (with someone)

Kanji and stroke order

together, both, neither
on: キョウ
kun: とも、とも.に、-ども
6 strokes · JLPT 2
emotion, feeling, sensation
on: カン
13 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “empathy”

WordReadingMeaning
にんじょう ninjouhumanity; empathy; kindness
エンパシー enpashiiempathy
かんじょういにゅう kanjouinyuuempathy
じこいにゅう jikoinyuuempathy; understanding; sensitivity
きょうかんせい kyoukanseiempathy; capacity for empathy; sympathism

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
きょうどう kyoudoucooperation; collaboration; association
きょうつう kyoutsuucommon; shared; mutual
こうきょう koukyoupublic (facilities, service, etc.); communal
ともに tomonitogether; jointly
きょうゆう kyouyuujoint ownership; co-ownership; sharing (e.g. a viewpoint)
かんじ kanjifeeling; sense; impression
かんしゃ kanshathanks; gratitude; appreciation
かんかく kankakusense; sensation; feeling

See also: Chinese symbol for “empathy”.

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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