Japanese symbol for “genius”
天才
てんさい
Romaji: tensai
genius; prodigy; natural gift
In Japanese, genius is 天才, read てんさい (tensai).
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 genius; prodigy; natural gift
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “genius”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 才 | さい sai | ability; gift; talent |
| 英才 | えいさい eisai | genius; brilliance; unusual talent |
| 鬼才 | きさい kisai | wizard; genius; remarkable talent |
| 英俊 | えいしゅん eishun | genius; prodigy |
| 俊英 | しゅんえい shun'ei | excellence; genius |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 天皇 | てんのう tennou | Emperor of Japan |
| 天気 | てんき tenki | weather |
| 天然 | てんねん tennen | nature; spontaneity |
| 天国 | てんごく tengoku | paradise; heaven; Kingdom of Heaven |
| 天井 | てんじょう tenjou | ceiling |
| 才能 | さいのう sainou | talent; ability |
| 漫才 | まんざい manzai | manzai; comic dialogue; two-person comedy act, usu. presented as a fast-paced dialogue, occ. presented as a skit |
| 秀才 | しゅうさい shuusai | bright person; talented student; prodigy |
See also: Chinese symbol for “genius”.
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.