Japanese symbol for “hurdle”
難関
なんかん
Romaji: nankan
barrier; obstacle; difficulty; hurdle
In Japanese, hurdle is 難関, read なんかん (nankan).
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
- n barrier; obstacle; difficulty; hurdle; deadlock
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “hurdle”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ハードル | ハードル haadoru | hurdle |
| 関門 | かんもん kanmon | hurdle; obstacle; trial |
| 難渋 | なんじゅう nanjuu | suffering; distress; difficulty |
| 障害物 | しょうがいぶつ shougaibutsu | obstacle; hurdle |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 難しい | むずかしい muzukashii | difficult; hard; troublesome |
| 困難 | こんなん konnan | difficulty; hardship; trouble |
| 避難 | ひなん hinan | taking refuge; finding shelter; evacuation |
| 非難 | ひなん hinan | criticism; blame; censure |
| 難民 | なんみん nanmin | refugee; displaced person |
| 盗難 | とうなん tounan | theft; robbery |
| 関係 | かんけい kankei | relation; relationship; connection |
| 関連 | かんれん kanren | relation; connection; relevance |
See also: Chinese symbol for “hurdle”.
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.