Japanese symbol for “enlightenment”
啓蒙
けいもう
Romaji: keimou
enlightenment; illumination
In Japanese, enlightenment is 啓蒙, read けいもう (keimou).
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, vs, vt enlightenment; illumination
Written forms: 啓蒙、啓もう. Readings: けいもう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “enlightenment”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 啓発 | けいはつ keihatsu | enlightenment; development; edification |
| 開眼 | かいがん kaigan | enlightenment; spiritual awakening; opening one's eyes to the truth |
| 大悟 | たいご taigo | enlightenment; great wisdom |
| 悟り | さとり satori | enlightenment; spiritual awakening; satori |
| 恵 | え e | wisdom; enlightenment |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 啓発 | けいはつ keihatsu | enlightenment; development; edification |
| 啓示 | けいじ keiji | (divine) revelation |
| 拝啓 | はいけい haikei | Dear (so and so); Dear Sir; Dear Madam |
| 啓蟄 | けいちつ keichitsu | "awakening of insects" solar term (approx. March 6, the day on which hibernating insects are said to come out of the ground) |
| 天啓 | てんけい tenkei | (divine) revelation; divine oracle |
| 満蒙 | まんもう manmou | Manchuria and Inner Mongolia |
| 蒙昧 | もうまい moumai | ignorant; unenlightened; uncivilized |
| 蒙古斑 | もうこはん moukohan | Mongolian spot; Mongolian blue spot; congenital dermal melanocytosis |
See also: Chinese symbol for “enlightenment”.
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.