Japanese symbol for “penetrate”
徹する
てっする
Romaji: tessuru
to penetrate; to sink in
In Japanese, penetrate is 徹する, read てっする (tessuru).
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
- vi, vs-s to penetrate; to sink in
- vi, vs-s to devote oneself (to); to do intently and exclusively
- vi, vs-s to do throughout (e.g. the night)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “penetrate”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 通る | とおる tooru | to penetrate; to pierce; to skewer |
| 入り込む | はいりこむ hairikomu | to go into; to come into; to penetrate |
| 染みる | しみる shimiru | to soak (into); to permeate; to seep (in) |
| 貫く | つらぬく tsuranuku | to go through; to pierce; to penetrate |
| 貫き通す | つらぬきとおす tsuranukitoosu | to go through; to pierce; to penetrate |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 徹底 | てってい tettei | thoroughness; completeness; consistency |
| 徹夜 | てつや tetsuya | staying up all night |
| 冷徹 | れいてつ reitetsu | cool-headed; level-headed; hard-headed |
| 徹底的 | てっていてき tetteiteki | thorough; exhaustive; complete |
| 貫徹 | かんてつ kantetsu | accomplishment; realization; attainment |
See also: Chinese symbol for “penetrate”.
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.