Japanese symbol for “tact”
遠慮
えんりょ
Romaji: enryo
reserve; constraint; restraint; modesty
In Japanese, tact is 遠慮, read えんりょ (enryo).
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
- n, vi, vs reserve; constraint; restraint; modesty; diffidence; hesitation
- n, vi, vs declining; refraining
- n, vi, vs forethought; foresight
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tact”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 巧者 | こうしゃ kousha | cleverness; skill; tact |
| 機転 | きてん kiten | quick-wittedness; tact |
| タクト | タクト takuto | tact; shrewdness; adroitness |
| 通 | つう tsuu | understanding (esp. of male-female relations); tact; insight |
| 機知 | きち kichi | wit; resources; tact |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 永遠 | えいえん eien | eternity; perpetuity; permanence |
| 遠い | とおい tooi | far; distant; far away |
| 望遠鏡 | ぼうえんきょう bouenkyou | telescope |
| 遠征 | えんせい ensei | (military) expedition; campaign |
| 敬遠 | けいえん keien | pretending to respect (someone) while in fact staying distant; keeping at arm's length; giving a wide berth |
| 配慮 | はいりょ hairyo | consideration; concern; attention |
| 考慮 | こうりょ kouryo | consideration; taking into account |
| 不慮 | ふりょ furyo | unforeseen; unexpected; sudden |
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.