King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “heroism”

Romaji: yuu
bravery; courage; heroism

In Japanese, heroism is , read (yuu).

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 bravery; courage; heroism

Kanji and stroke order

courage, cheer up, be in high spirits
on: ユウ
kun: いさ.む
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “heroism”

WordReadingMeaning
ぎゆう giyuuheroism; loyalty and courage
ヒロイズム hiroizumuheroism
ぎれつ giretsuheroism
えいゆうしゅぎ eiyuushugiheroism
ぎき gikichivalry; heroism

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ゆうき yuukicourage; bravery; valour
ゆうしゃ yuushahero; the brave; man of valour (valor)
ゆうかん yuukanbrave; courageous; gallant
ゆうし yuushibrave warrior; hero; brave man
いさましい isamashiibrave; valiant; gallant
いさみあし isamiashiovereagerness; rashness

See also: Chinese symbol for “heroism”.

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.