King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “repulsion”

Romaji: teikou
resistance; opposition; standing up to

In Japanese, repulsion is , read (teikou).

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 resistance; opposition; standing up to
  2. n, vi, vs reluctance; repulsion; repugnance
  3. n resistance; drag; friction (physics)
  4. n electrical resistance (elec)
  5. n resistor (elec)

Kanji and stroke order

resist, reach, touch
on: テイ
8 strokes · JLPT 1
confront, resist, defy
on: コウ
kun: あらが.う
7 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “repulsion”

WordReadingMeaning
はんぱつ hanpatsurebounding; recoiling; repulsion
せきりょく sekiryokurepulsion; repulsive force
そうはん souhanrepulsion
はんぱつさよう hanpatsusayourepulsion

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
たいてい taiteimostly; ordinarily; usually
ていとう teitoumortgage; security; hypothec
ていしょく teishokuinfringement (of a law, treaty, etc.); contravention; running afoul
なみたいてい namitaiteiordinary; average; run-of-the-mill
ていとうけん teitoukenmortgage; right of pledge; lien
たいこう taikouopposition; rivalry; competition
こうぎ kougiprotest; objection
はんこう hankouopposition; resistance; insubordination

See also: Chinese symbol for “repulsion”.

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.