Japanese symbol for “outwit”

出し抜く

だしぬく

Romaji: dashinuku

to outwit; to outmanoeuvre; to steal a march on; to get the jump on

In Japanese, outwit is 出し抜く, read だしぬく (dashinuku).

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

v5k, vt to outwit; to outmanoeuvre; to steal a march on; to get the jump on; to anticipate; to forestall

Written forms: 出し抜く、出しぬく、だし抜く. Readings: だしぬく.

Kanji and stroke order

出

exit, leave, go out

on: シュツ、スイ
kun: で.る、-で、だ.す、-だ.す

5 strokes · JLPT 4

抜

slip out, extract, pull out

on: バツ、ハツ、ハイ
kun: ぬ.く、-ぬ.く、ぬ.き、ぬ.ける

7 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “outwit”

Word	Reading	Meaning
鼻を明かす	はなをあかす hanaoakasu	to outwit; to get the better of; to leave (an opponent) dumbfounded
裏をかく	うらをかく uraokaku	to outwit; to outsmart; to counterplot
鼻毛を抜く	はなげをぬく hanageonuku	to outwit; to fool

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
出演	しゅつえん shutsuen	appearance (in a film, play, TV show, etc.); performance
出す	だす dasu	to take out; to get out
出る	でる deru	to leave; to exit; to go out
出来る	できる dekiru	to be able to do; to be possible; to be permitted (to do)
出身	しゅっしん shusshin	one's origin (e.g. city, country, parentage, school)
演出	えんしゅつ enshutsu	direction (of a play, film, etc.); production
抜群	ばつぐん batsugun	outstanding; excellent; exceptional
抜き	ぬき nuki	leaving out; omitting; skipping

See also: Chinese symbol for “outwit”.

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.