Japanese symbol for “humble”
謙虚
けんきょ
Romaji: kenkyo
modest; humble
In Japanese, humble is 謙虚, read けんきょ (kenkyo).
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
- adj-na, n modest; humble
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “humble”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 粗末 | そまつ somatsu | crude; rough; plain |
| 細やか | ささやか sasayaka | small; little; tiny |
| 神妙 | しんみょう shinmyou | meek; quiet; docile |
| 奴 | め me | humble |
| 卑しい | いやしい iyashii | lowborn; humble; lowly |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 謙遜 | けんそん kenson | modesty; humility; being humble |
| 謙譲 | けんじょう kenjou | modesty; humility |
| 恭謙 | きょうけん kyouken | modesty; humility |
| 謙称 | けんしょう kenshou | self-deprecating term; humble way of referring to oneself, one's abilities, one's possessions, etc. |
| 謙譲語 | けんじょうご kenjougo | humble language (e.g. itadaku) |
| 虚構 | きょこう kyokou | fiction; fabrication; concoction |
| 虚偽 | きょぎ kyogi | falsehood; untruth; lie |
| 虚無 | きょむ kyomu | nihility; nothingness |
See also: Chinese symbol for “humble”.
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.