Japanese symbol for “shyness”
人見知り
ひとみしり
Romaji: hitomishiri
shyness; fear of strangers; stranger anxiety
In Japanese, shyness is 人見知り, read ひとみしり (hitomishiri).
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-na, n, vi shyness; fear of strangers; stranger anxiety
Written forms: 人見知り、人見知、人見しり. Readings: ひとみしり.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “shyness”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 羞恥 | しゅうち shuuchi | shyness; bashfulness; shame |
| 恥じらい | はじらい hajirai | shyness; bashfulness |
| 羞恥心 | しゅうちしん shuuchishin | shyness; shame |
| 含羞 | がんしゅう ganshuu | shyness |
| はにかみ | はにかみ hanikami | bashfulness; shyness; (showing signs of) embarrassment |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人間 | にんげん ningen | human being; human; person |
| 個人 | こじん kojin | individual; private person; personal |
| 人気 | にんき ninki | popularity; public favor |
| 人生 | じんせい jinsei | (one's) life |
| 人々 | ひとびと hitobito | people; men and women |
| 大人 | おとな otona | adult; grown-up |
| 見る | みる miru | to see; to look; to watch |
| 発見 | はっけん hakken | discovery; detection; finding |
| 知る | しる shiru | to know; to be aware (of); to be conscious (of) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “shyness”.
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.