King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “intractable”

Romaji: nanji
intractable (diseases); hard to cure

In Japanese, intractable is , read (nanji).

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 intractable (diseases); hard to cure
  2. adj-no, n rebellious; insurgent; refractory; obstinate

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

difficult, impossible, trouble
on: ナン
kun: かた.い、-がた.い、むずか.しい、むづか.しい
18 strokes · JLPT 2
reign, be at peace, calm down
on: ジ、チ
kun: おさ.める、おさ.まる、なお.る、なお.す
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “intractable”

WordReadingMeaning
かどかどしい kadokadoshiiintractable; angular
ときがたい tokigataidifficult to solve; intractable (problem)
しまつがわるい shimatsugawaruihard to deal with; hard to handle; difficult

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
むずかしい muzukashiidifficult; hard; troublesome
こんなん konnandifficulty; hardship; trouble
ひなん hinantaking refuge; finding shelter; evacuation
ひなん hinancriticism; blame; censure
なんみん nanminrefugee; displaced person
とうなん tounantheft; robbery
せいじ seijipolitics; government
ちりょう chiryou(medical) treatment; care; therapy

See also: Chinese symbol for “intractable”.

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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