King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “gloss”

Romaji: tsuya
gloss; luster; lustre; shine

In Japanese, gloss is , read (tsuya).

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 gloss; luster; lustre; shine; sheen; polish
  2. n mellowness (of a voice); youthfulness (e.g. of skin)
  3. n interest; appeal; charm; color; colour; feeling
  4. n romance; love; sexiness

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

glossy, luster, glaze
on: エン
kun: つや、なま.めかしい、あで.やか、つや.めく
19 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “gloss”

WordReadingMeaning
ねり nerikneading; gloss; tempering
やくご yakugotranslation equivalent; equivalent word in translation; translation (of a word)
グロス gurosu(lip) gloss
ねる neruto gloss (silk); to soften; to degum
ちゅうかい chuukaigloss; explanatory notes; annotation

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ようえん youenfascinating; voluptuous; bewitching
あですがた adesugatacharming figure; alluring figure
えんしょう enshouseductive smile
つやつや tsuyatsuyaglossy; bright; slick
なまめかしい namamekashiicharming; captivating; bewitching
つやめく tsuyamekuto be glossy; to glisten; to shine with a luster

See also: Chinese symbol for “gloss”.

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.