King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “philosophical”

Romaji: tetsugakuteki
philosophical

In Japanese, philosophical is , read (tetsugakuteki).

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 philosophical

Kanji and stroke order

philosophy, clear
on: テツ
kun: さとい、あきらか
10 strokes · JLPT 1
study, learning, science
on: ガク
kun: まな.ぶ
8 strokes · JLPT 4
bull's eye, mark, target
on: テキ
kun: まと
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
てつがく tetsugakuphilosophy
てつじん tetsujinwise man; philosopher; sage
へんてつ hentetsusomething unusual; something odd; something out of the ordinary
てつり tetsuriphilosophic principles; philosophy
せいてつ seitetsuwise man
がっこう gakkouschool
だいがく daigakuuniversity; college
がくせい gakuseistudent (esp. a university student)
もくてき mokutekipurpose; goal; aim

See also: Chinese symbol for “philosophical”.

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.