Japanese symbol for “panicking”
きりきり舞い
きりきりまい
Romaji: kirikirimai
whirling; going round and round; rushing a person off his feet
In Japanese, panicking is きりきり舞い, read きりきりまい (kirikirimai).
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
- n, vi, vs whirling; going round and round; rushing a person off his feet
- n, vi, vs panicking; rushing around in a fluster; working in a panic
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 舞台 | ぶたい butai | stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.) |
| 歌舞伎 | かぶき kabuki | kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly in white and red |
| 見舞い | みまい mimai | visit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune); call; inquiry (about someone's health) |
| 舞踏 | ぶとう butou | dance (esp. Western style); dancing |
| 舞う | まう mau | to dance (orig. a whirling dance) |
| 舞踊 | ぶよう buyou | dancing; dance |
See also: Chinese symbol for “panicking”.
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.