Japanese symbol for “overreaching”

身の程知らず

みのほどしらず

Romaji: minohodoshirazu

not knowing one's social position; overweening; overreaching; forgetting who one is

In Japanese, overreaching is 身の程知らず, read みのほどしらず (minohodoshirazu).

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

adj-na, adj-no, exp not knowing one's social position; overweening; overreaching; forgetting who one is

Written forms: 身の程知らず、身のほど知らず. Readings: みのほどしらず.

Kanji and stroke order

身

somebody, person, one's station in life

on: シン
kun: み

7 strokes · JLPT 2

程

extent, degree, law

on: テイ
kun: ほど、-ほど

12 strokes · JLPT 2

知

know, wisdom

on: チ
kun: し.る、し.らせる

8 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
自身	じしん jishin	(one's) self; oneself; yourself
出身	しゅっしん shusshin	one's origin (e.g. city, country, parentage, school)
中身	なかみ nakami	contents; interior; filling
身長	しんちょう shinchou	height (of a person); stature
全身	ぜんしん zenshin	whole (body); full-length (e.g. portrait)
変身	へんしん henshin	metamorphosis; disguise; transformation
程度	ていど teido	degree; amount; grade
過程	かてい katei	process; course; mechanism
知る	しる shiru	to know; to be aware (of); to be conscious (of)

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.