King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “intent”

Romaji: koi
intent; intention; bad faith

In Japanese, intent is , read (koi).

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. adj-no, n intent; intention; bad faith
  2. n mens rea (guilty mind) (law)

Kanji and stroke order

happenstance, especially, intentionally
on: コ
kun: ゆえ、ふる.い、もと
9 strokes · JLPT 2
idea, mind, heart
on: イ
13 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “intent”

WordReadingMeaning
いし ishiwill; volition; intention
いちず ichizusingle-minded; intent; determined
ぜんてい zenteiintention; intent; aim
しゅし shushigoal; intent; object
ひとすじ hitosujiearnest; resolute; intent

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
じこ jikoaccident; incident; trouble
こしょう koshoufault; trouble; breakdown
ふるさと furusatohometown; birthplace; native place
ゆえに yuenitherefore; consequently
なにゆえ naniyuewhy
いみ imimeaning; significance; sense
ちゅうい chuuiattention; notice; heed
いしき ishikiconsciousness

See also: Chinese symbol for “intent”.

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.

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