King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “secret”

Romaji: himitsu
secret; secrecy; confidentiality; privacy

In Japanese, secret is , read (himitsu).

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, adj-no, n secret; secrecy; confidentiality; privacy
  2. n mystery
  3. n secret (e.g. to success)
  4. n esoteric teachings (Buddh)

Kanji and stroke order

secret, conceal
on: ヒ
kun: ひ.める、ひそ.か、かく.す
10 strokes · JLPT 1
secrecy, density (pop), minuteness
on: ミツ
kun: ひそ.か
11 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “secret”

WordReadingMeaning
ひけつ hiketsusecret (method, trick, etc.); key (e.g. to success); mysteries (of an art, trade, etc.)
しんぴ shinpimystery; mysteriousness; secret
おんみつ onmitsusecret; clandestine; covert
ひそか hisokasecret; private; surreptitious
ひこうかい hikoukaiprivate; non-public; secret

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひしょ hisho(private) secretary
ごくひ gokuhiabsolute secrecy
しんぴ shinpimystery; mysteriousness; secret
べんぴ benpiconstipation
ひけつ hiketsusecret (method, trick, etc.); key (e.g. to success); mysteries (of an art, trade, etc.)
みつど mitsudodensity
せいみつ seimitsuprecise; exact; detailed
みっせつ missetsuclose (relationship, connection, etc.); intimate; near

See also: Chinese symbol for “secret”.

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.

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