King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “perseverance”

Romaji: gaman
endurance; patience; perseverance; bearing (with something)

In Japanese, perseverance is , read (gaman).

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. n, vi, vs endurance; patience; perseverance; bearing (with something)
  2. n, vi, vs self-control; self-restraint

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

ego, I, selfish
on: ガ
kun: われ、わ、わ.が-、わが-
7 strokes · JLPT 1
ridicule, laziness
on: マン
14 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “perseverance”

WordReadingMeaning
にんたい nintaiendurance; perseverance; patience
こんき konkipatience; perseverance; persistence
しんぼう shinboupatience; endurance; perseverance
こん konstick-to-itiveness; perseverance; persistence
しょうこん shoukonperseverance; determination; tenacity

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
われわれ warewarewe
わが wagamy; our; one's own
わがや wagayaone's house; one's home; one's family
じが jigaego
われら warerawe; us
じまん jimanpride (in one's achievements, possessions, etc.); self-praise; boast
まんせい manseichronic (illness)
ごうまん goumanhaughty; arrogant; insolent

See also: Chinese symbol for “perseverance”.

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.

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