King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “piercing”

Romaji: kantsuu
passing through (of a tunnel, bullet, etc.); going (right) through; penetrating; piercing

In Japanese, piercing is , read (kantsuu).

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 passing through (of a tunnel, bullet, etc.); going (right) through; penetrating; piercing
  2. n, vi, vs being well versed (in)

Kanji and stroke order

pierce, 8 1/3lbs, penetrate
on: カン
kun: つらぬ.く、ぬ.く、ぬき
11 strokes · JLPT 1
traffic, pass through, avenue
on: ツウ、ツ
kun: とお.る、とお.り、-とお.り、-どお.り
10 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “piercing”

WordReadingMeaning
するどい surudoisharp (pain, tone, etc.); acute; stabbing
さし sashistabbing; piercing; pricking
けたたましい ketatamashiipiercing; shrill; noisy
ピアッシング piasshingupiercing
とっかん tokkanpenetration; piercing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
いっかん ikkanconsistency; coherence; integration
とっかん tokkancharging (at the enemy) with a shout; rush
かんてつ kantetsuaccomplishment; realization; attainment
つらぬく tsuranukuto go through; to pierce; to penetrate
つらぬきとおす tsuranukitoosuto go through; to pierce; to penetrate
ふつう futsuunormal; ordinary; regular
どおり dooriin accordance with; following
つうじょう tsuujouusual; ordinary; normal

See also: Chinese symbol for “piercing”.

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.