Japanese symbol for “sharpen”
削る
けずる
Romaji: kezuru
to shave (wood, leather, etc.); to sharpen (e.g. pencil); to plane; to whittle
In Japanese, sharpen is 削る, read けずる (kezuru).
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
- v5r, vt to shave (wood, leather, etc.); to sharpen (e.g. pencil); to plane; to whittle; to pare; to scrape off
- v5r, vt to cut down (budget, expenses, staff, time, etc.); to curtail; to reduce
- v5r, vt to delete; to erase; to remove; to cross out; to strike out
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sharpen”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 研ぐ | とぐ togu | to sharpen; to hone; to whet |
| 立てる | たてる tateru | to sharpen (e.g. a knife) |
| 研ぎ澄ます | とぎすます togisumasu | to sharpen; to grind; to whet |
| 尖らす | とがらす togarasu | to sharpen (e.g. pencil); to pout (e.g. lips) |
| 尖らせる | とがらせる togaraseru | to sharpen (e.g. pencil); to pout (e.g. lips) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 削減 | さくげん sakugen | cut; reduction; curtailment |
| 削除 | さくじょ sakujo | deletion; elimination; erasure |
| 添削 | てんさく tensaku | correction; looking over; touching up |
| 掘削 | くっさく kussaku | digging out; excavation |
| 削り節 | けずりぶし kezuribushi | flaked bonito |
See also: Chinese symbol for “sharpen”.
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.