Japanese symbol for “stinging”
鋭い
するどい
Romaji: surudoi
sharp (knife, claws, etc.); pointed
In Japanese, stinging is 鋭い, read するどい (surudoi).
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 sharp (knife, claws, etc.); pointed
- adj-i sharp (pain, tone, etc.); acute; stabbing; cutting (remark, criticism, etc.); stinging; biting
- adj-i keen (intuition, sense of smell, etc.); acute; sharp (eye, mind, etc.); astute; shrewd; discerning
Written forms: 鋭い、尖い. Readings: するどい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “stinging”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ヒリヒリ | ヒリヒリ hirihiri | stinging (pain); smarting; tingling |
| チクチク | チクチク chikuchiku | prickling; stinging; tingling |
| 刺々しい | とげとげしい togetogeshii | sharp (words); harsh (manner, tone, etc.); hostile (mood, attitude, etc.) |
| ぴりり | ぴりり piriri | tingling; stinging; pungently |
| ちくり | ちくり chikuri | prickling; stinging; biting |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 新鋭 | しんえい shin'ei | young and energetic; up-and-coming; new and excellent |
| 鋭利 | えいり eiri | sharp; keen; acute |
| 精鋭 | せいえい seiei | elite; best; pick |
| 鋭角 | えいかく eikaku | acute angle |
| 鋭敏 | えいびん eibin | sharp (eyes, ears, etc.); keen; acute |
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.