Japanese symbol for “inactive”
低調
ていちょう
Romaji: teichou
inactive; slow; sluggish; slack
In Japanese, inactive is 低調, read ていちょう (teichou).
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 inactive; slow; sluggish; slack; low tone; undertone
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “inactive”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 緩慢 | かんまん kanman | slow; sluggish; dull |
| 閑散 | かんさん kansan | inactive (business, trade, etc.); slack; flat |
| 不景気 | ふけいき fukeiki | poor (business); dull; slack |
| 非活動 | ひかつどう hikatsudou | inactive |
| 非活性 | ひかっせい hikassei | inactive; inert |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 最低 | さいてい saitei | least; lowest; minimum |
| 低下 | ていか teika | fall; decline; lowering |
| 低い | ひくい hikui | low (rank, degree, value, content, quality, etc.) |
| 低温 | ていおん teion | low temperature |
| 最低限 | さいていげん saiteigen | minimum |
| 低迷 | ていめい teimei | hanging low (of clouds) |
| 調査 | ちょうさ chousa | investigation; examination; inquiry |
| 調べ | しらべ shirabe | investigation; inspection; examination |
See also: Chinese symbol for “inactive”.
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.