Japanese symbol for “jeopardy”

危殆

きたい

Romaji: kitai

danger; jeopardy; distress

In Japanese, jeopardy is 危殆, read きたい (kitai).

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

n danger; jeopardy; distress

Kanji and stroke order

危

dangerous, fear, uneasy

on: キ
kun: あぶ.ない、あや.うい、あや.ぶむ

6 strokes · JLPT 2

殆

almost, quite, really

on: タイ、サイ
kun: ほとほと、ほとん.ど、あやうい

9 strokes

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
危険	きけん kiken	danger; peril; hazard
危機	きき kiki	crisis; critical situation; emergency
危惧	きぐ kigu	apprehension; misgivings; uneasiness
危ない	あぶない abunai	dangerous; risky; hazardous
危うく	あやうく ayauku	barely; narrowly
危うい	あやうい ayaui	dangerous; in danger; facing imminent danger
殆ど	ほとんど hotondo	almost; nearly; mostly
殆どない	ほとんどない hotondonai	hardly any; almost nonexistent; very little

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.