Japanese symbol for “short”
短い
みじかい
Romaji: mijikai
short
In Japanese, short is 短い, read みじかい (mijikai).
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
- adj-i short
- adj-i brief
Written forms: 短い、短かい. Readings: みじかい、みじけー.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “short”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 近い | ちかい chikai | near; close; short (distance) |
| 低い | ひくい hikui | short (height) |
| ショート | ショート shooto | short |
| 短 | みじか mijika | short; brief |
| 短絡 | たんらく tanraku | short circuit; short |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 短期 | たんき tanki | short-term |
| 短縮 | たんしゅく tanshuku | shortening; contraction; reduction |
| 短歌 | たんか tanka | tanka; 31-mora Japanese poem |
| 短大 | たんだい tandai | junior college; vocationally oriented post-secondary institution offering two or three-year programs |
| 短期間 | たんきかん tankikan | short term; short time |
See also: Chinese symbol for “short”.
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.