King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “paradoxical”

Romaji: gyakusetsuteki
paradoxical

In Japanese, paradoxical is , read (gyakusetsuteki).

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. adj-na paradoxical

Kanji and stroke order

inverted, reverse, opposite
on: ギャク、ゲキ
kun: さか、さか.さ、さか.らう
9 strokes · JLPT 2
opinion, theory, explanation
on: セツ、ゼイ
kun: と.く
14 strokes · JLPT 3
bull's eye, mark, target
on: テキ
kun: まと
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “paradoxical”

WordReadingMeaning
パラドキシカル paradokishikaruparadoxical

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さかさ sakasainverted; upside down; reversed
ぎゃくてん gyakutenreversal (of a situation); turnaround; turnabout
はんぎゃく hangyakutreason; treachery; mutiny
ぎゃっきょう gyakkyouadverse circumstances; unfortunate situation; adversity
ぎゃくもどり gyakumodoriretrogression; reversal; relapse
さからう sakarauto go against; to oppose; to disobey
せつめい setsumeiexplanation; exposition; description
しょうせつ shousetsunovel; story; (work of) fiction
もくてき mokutekipurpose; goal; aim

See also: Chinese symbol for “paradoxical”.

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.