Japanese symbol for “inward”

人知れぬ

ひとしれぬ

Romaji: hitoshirenu

secret; hidden; unseen; inward

In Japanese, inward is 人知れぬ, read ひとしれぬ (hitoshirenu).

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-pn secret; hidden; unseen; inward

Kanji and stroke order

人

person

on: ジン、ニン
kun: ひと、-り、-と

2 strokes · JLPT 4

知

know, wisdom

on: チ
kun: し.る、し.らせる

8 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
人間	にんげん ningen	human being; human; person
個人	こじん kojin	individual; private person; personal
人気	にんき ninki	popularity; public favor
人生	じんせい jinsei	(one's) life
人々	ひとびと hitobito	people; men and women
大人	おとな otona	adult; grown-up
知る	しる shiru	to know; to be aware (of); to be conscious (of)
知識	ちしき chishiki	knowledge; information

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.