King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “ordeal”

Romaji: shiren
test; trial; ordeal; tribulation

In Japanese, ordeal is , read (shiren).

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 test; trial; ordeal; tribulation

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

test, try, attempt
on: シ
kun: こころ.みる、ため.す
13 strokes · JLPT 3
practice, gloss, train
on: レン
kun: ね.る、ね.り
14 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “ordeal”

WordReadingMeaning
くはい kuhaibitter cup; bitter experience; bitter defeat

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しあい shiaimatch; game; bout
しけん shikenexamination; exam; test
ためし tameshitrial; test; try
こころみ kokoromiattempt; trial; experiment
にゅうし nyuushientrance examination
ためす tamesuto try (out); to have a try (at); to test
れんしゅう renshuupractice; training; drill
くんれん kunrentraining; drill; practice

See also: Chinese symbol for “ordeal”.

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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