Japanese symbol for “indebted”
忝い
かたじけない
Romaji: katajikenai
grateful; indebted
In Japanese, indebted is 忝い, read かたじけない (katajikenai).
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-i grateful; indebted
Written forms: 忝い、辱い、忝ない、辱ない. Readings: かたじけない.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 忝くも | かたじけなくも katajikenakumo | graciously |
| 忝涙 | かたじけなみだ katajikenamida | tears of gratitude |
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.