Japanese symbol for “perception”
勘
かん
Romaji: kan
perception; intuition; the sixth sense
In Japanese, perception is 勘, read かん (kan).
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 perception; intuition; the sixth sense
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “perception”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 認識 | にんしき ninshiki | recognition; awareness; perception |
| 知覚 | ちかく chikaku | perception; sensation; awareness |
| 感知 | かんち kanchi | perception; sensing; noticing |
| 会得 | えとく etoku | understanding; comprehension; grasp |
| 見取り | みとり mitori | perception; grasp |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勘違い | かんちがい kanchigai | misunderstanding; mistaken idea; wrong guess |
| 勘定 | かんじょう kanjou | calculation; computation; counting |
| 勘弁 | かんべん kanben | pardon; forgiveness; forbearance |
| 勘案 | かんあん kan'an | taking into consideration; giving consideration (to) |
| 割り勘 | わりかん warikan | splitting the bill (usu. evenly); splitting the check |
| 勘当 | かんどう kandou | disinheritance; disowning |
See also: Chinese symbol for “perception”.
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.