King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “rigorous”

Romaji: genkaku
strict; severe; stern; rigid

In Japanese, rigorous is , read (genkaku).

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, n strict; severe; stern; rigid; rigorous; tough

Kanji and stroke order

stern, strictness, severity
on: ゲン、ゴン
kun: おごそ.か、きび.しい、いか.めしい、いつくし
17 strokes · JLPT 1
status, rank, capacity
on: カク、コウ、キャク、ゴウ
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “rigorous”

WordReadingMeaning
げんじゅう genjuustrict; severe; stringent
かこく kakokusevere; harsh; hard
こく kokusevere; harsh; stringent
しゅんげん shungenstrict; stern; rigorous
しゅんれつ shunretsusevere; harsh; rigorous

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
きびしい kibishiisevere; strict; rigid
げんじゅう genjuustrict; severe; stringent
そんげん songendignity; majesty; sanctity
げんきん genkinstrict prohibition; ban; interdiction
いげん igendignity; majesty; solemnity
かかく kakakuprice; value; cost
せいかく seikakucharacter (of a person); personality; disposition
しかく shikakuqualifications; requirements; capabilities

See also: Chinese symbol for “rigorous”.

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.