King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “hardships”

Romaji: shinsan
hardships; privation

In Japanese, hardships is , read (shinsan).

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 hardships; privation

Kanji and stroke order

spicy, bitter, hot
on: シン
kun: から.い、つら.い、-づら.い、かのと
7 strokes · JLPT 2
acid, bitterness, sour
on: サン
kun: す.い
14 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “hardships”

WordReadingMeaning
あらなみ aranamihardships; troubles; adversities
かんなん kannanhardships; privations; difficulties
なみかぜ namikazehardships
ふうせつ fuusetsuhardships
かんなんしんく kannanshinkutrial and tribulation; hardships; privations

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
からい karaispicy; hot
からくち karakuchidry taste (e.g. sake, wine)
こうしんりょう koushinryouspice; spices; condiment
しんぼう shinboupatience; endurance; perseverance
とうがらし tougarashicapsicum (Capsicum annuum, esp. the cultivated chili peppers); chili pepper (chile, chilli); cayenne
さんそ sansooxygen (O)
さんか sankaoxidation; oxidization
たんさん tansancarbonic acid

See also: Chinese symbol for “hardships”.

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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