King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “stabilize”

Romaji: katameru
to harden; to freeze; to strengthen; to solidify

In Japanese, stabilize is , read (katameru).

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. v1, vt to harden; to freeze; to strengthen; to solidify; to make (a fist); to tramp down (snow, dirt)
  2. v1, vt to put together; to collect; to gather; to consolidate
  3. v1, vt to make secure; to stabilize; to settle down; to strengthen (belief, resolution, etc.); to establish (evidence)
  4. v1, vt to fortify; to reinforce; to support
  5. v1, vt to wear for a specific purpose (armor, coat, etc.)
  6. v1, vt to swear; to resolutely vow; to sincerely promise

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

harden, set, clot
on: コ
kun: かた.める、かた.まる、かた.まり、かた.い
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
こてい koteifixing (in place); being fixed (in place); securing
こゆう koyuucharacteristic (of); peculiar (to); inherent (in)
がんこ gankostubborn; obstinate; pigheaded
かため katamehardening; fortifying
こたい kotaisolid (body); solid matter; solid-state

See also: Chinese symbol for “stabilize”.

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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