King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “shyness”

Romaji: hitomishiri
shyness; fear of strangers; stranger anxiety

In Japanese, shyness is , read (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

  1. adj-na, n, vi shyness; fear of strangers; stranger anxiety

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

person
on: ジン、ニン
kun: ひと、-り、-と
2 strokes · JLPT 4
see, hopes, chances
on: ケン
kun: み.る、み.える、み.せる
7 strokes · JLPT 4
know, wisdom
on: チ
kun: し.る、し.らせる
8 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “shyness”

WordReadingMeaning
しゅうち shuuchishyness; bashfulness; shame
はじらい hajiraishyness; bashfulness
しゅうちしん shuuchishinshyness; shame
がんしゅう ganshuushyness
はにかみ hanikamibashfulness; shyness; (showing signs of) embarrassment

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
にんげん ningenhuman being; human; person
こじん kojinindividual; private person; personal
にんき ninkipopularity; public favor
じんせい jinsei(one's) life
ひとびと hitobitopeople; men and women
おとな otonaadult; grown-up
みる miruto see; to look; to watch
はっけん hakkendiscovery; detection; finding
しる shiruto 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.

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