King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “nudge”

Romaji: tsutsuku
to poke (repeatedly, lightly); to nudge

In Japanese, nudge is , read (tsutsuku).

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. v5k, vt to poke (repeatedly, lightly); to nudge
  2. v5k, vt to peck at (one's food); to pick at
  3. v5k, vt to peck at (someone's faults, etc.)
  4. v5k, vt to egg on; to put up to

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

stab, protruding, thrust
on: トツ、カ
kun: つ.く
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “nudge”

WordReadingMeaning
つっつく tsuttsukuto poke (repeatedly, lightly); to nudge

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
とつぜん totsuzenabrupt; sudden; unexpected
とっぱ toppabreaking through; breakthrough; penetration
しょうとつ shoutotsucollision; crash; impact
とつにゅう totsunyuurushing into; breaking into; storming
とつじょ totsujosuddenly; all of a sudden; unexpectedly
つき tsukithrust; stab; lunge

See also: Chinese symbol for “nudge”.

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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