Japanese symbol for “laboured”

牽強付会

けんきょうふかい

Romaji: kenkyoufukai

strained (argument, interpretation, etc.); farfetched (theory, view, etc.); forced; laboured

In Japanese, laboured is 牽強付会, read けんきょうふかい (kenkyoufukai).

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-no, n, vs strained (argument, interpretation, etc.); farfetched (theory, view, etc.); forced; laboured; twisted (reasoning)

Written forms: 牽強付会、牽強附会. Readings: けんきょうふかい.

Kanji and stroke order

牽

pull, tug, drag

on: ケン
kun: ひ.く

11 strokes

強

strong

on: キョウ、ゴウ
kun: つよ.い、つよ.まる、つよ.める、し.いる

11 strokes · JLPT 3

付

adhere, attach, refer to

on: フ
kun: つ.ける、-つ.ける、-づ.ける、つ.け

5 strokes · JLPT 2

会

meeting, meet, party

on: カイ、エ
kun: あ.う、あ.わせる、あつ.まる

6 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
牽引	けんいん ken'in	traction; towing; hauling
牽制	けんせい kensei	check; keeping in check; restraint
牽牛	けんぎゅう kengyuu	Altair (star in the constellation Aquila); Alpha Aquilae
牽引車	けんいんしゃ ken'insha	tractor; towing vehicle
牽引力	けんいんりょく ken'inryoku	pulling power
勉強	べんきょう benkyou	study
強化	きょうか kyouka	strengthening; intensifying; reinforcement
強い	つよい tsuyoi	strong; potent; competent
付近	ふきん fukin	neighborhood; neighbourhood; vicinity
会社	かいしゃ kaisha	company; corporation; firm

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.