King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “overpowering”

Romaji: iatsu
coercion; overpowering; overawing; daunting

In Japanese, overpowering is , read (iatsu).

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, vs, vt coercion; overpowering; overawing; daunting

Kanji and stroke order

intimidate, dignity, majesty
on: イ
kun: おど.す、おど.し、おど.かす
9 strokes · JLPT 1
pressure, push, overwhelm
on: アツ、エン、オウ
kun: お.す、へ.す、おさ.える、お.さえる
5 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “overpowering”

WordReadingMeaning
ゆうし yuushioverwhelming; overpowering; prevailing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
けんい ken'iauthority; power; influence
きょうい kyouithreat; menace
いかく ikakuthreat; intimidation; menace
いりょく iryokupower; might; authority
いせい iseipower; might; authority
いげん igendignity; majesty; solemnity
あつりょく atsuryokupressure
きあつ kiatsuatmospheric pressure; air pressure

See also: Chinese symbol for “overpowering”.

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.