Japanese symbol for “grinning”
ニヤニヤ
ニヤニヤ
Romaji: niyaniya
grinning; smirking
In Japanese, grinning is ニヤニヤ (niyaniya).
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
- adv, adv-to, vs grinning; smirking
Written forms: —. Readings: ニヤニヤ、にやにや.
Other Japanese words for “grinning”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ニマニマ | ニマニマ nimanima | smiling; grinning |
See also: Chinese symbol for “grinning”.
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.