King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “momentum”

Romaji: ikioi
force; vigor; vigour; energy

In Japanese, momentum is , read (ikioi).

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. n force; vigor; vigour; energy; spirit; life
  2. n influence; authority; power; might
  3. n impetus; impulse; momentum; course (of events)
  4. adv naturally; necessarily; inevitably

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

forces, energy, military strength
on: セイ、ゼイ
kun: いきお.い、はずみ
13 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “momentum”

WordReadingMeaning
はずみ hazumimomentum; impetus; impulse
きうん kiuntrend; tendency; momentum
よせい yoseisurplus power; momentum; impetus
きうん kiuntrend; tendency; momentum
モーメントこう moomentokoumomentum

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しせい shiseiposture; pose; position
せいりょく seiryokuinfluence; power; might
おおぜい oozeicrowd of people; great number of people
じょうせい jouseistate of things; state of affairs; situation
たいせい taiseiattitude; posture; preparedness

See also: Chinese symbol for “momentum”.

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.