King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “persevering”

Romaji: shitsuyou
persistent; obstinate; tenacious; relentless

In Japanese, persevering is , read (shitsuyou).

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 persistent; obstinate; tenacious; relentless; insistent; importunate

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

tenacious, take hold, grasp
on: シツ、シュウ
kun: と.る
11 strokes · JLPT 1
crooked, twisted, distorted
on: オウ、ヨウ、イク、ユウ
kun: ねじ.れる、こじ.れる、す.ねる、ねじ.ける
8 strokes

Other Japanese words for “persevering”

WordReadingMeaning
ねばりづよい nebarizuyoitenacious; persevering; persistent
しんぼうづよい shinbouzuyoipatient; persevering
がまんづよい gamanzuyoi(very) patient; persevering
にんたいづよい nintaizuyoipersevering; very patient
こんきづよい konkizuyoipersevering; persistent; patient

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しっこう shikkouexecution; carrying out; performance
しっぴつ shippitsuwriting; authoring
しゅうねん shuunentenacity; persistence; obsession
しゅうちゃく shuuchakuattachment; adhesion; insistence
かくしつ kakushitsudiscord; antagonism
しつむ shitsumuperformance of one's official duties
こじれ kojirecomplications; tangle
すねる suneruto be peevish; to sulk; to pout

See also: Chinese symbol for “persevering”.

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.