Japanese symbol for “tempering”
鍛錬
たんれん
Romaji: tanren
tempering (metal); annealing; forging
In Japanese, tempering is 鍛錬, read たんれん (tanren).
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, vs, vt tempering (metal); annealing; forging
- n, vs, vt toughening; disciplining; training
Written forms: 鍛錬、鍛練. Readings: たんれん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tempering”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 練り | ねり neri | kneading; gloss; tempering |
| 鍛え | きたえ kitae | forging; tempering |
| 焼き | やき yaki | tempering (in metallurgy) |
| 焼入れ | やきいれ yakiire | quenching; hardening; tempering |
| 焼き戻し | やきもどし yakimodoshi | tempering; annealing |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鍛える | きたえる kitaeru | to forge; to temper |
| 鍛え | きたえ kitae | forging; tempering |
| 鍛冶 | かじ kaji | blacksmithing; forging; smithery |
| 鍛造 | たんぞう tanzou | forging |
| 鍛冶屋 | かじや kajiya | smith; blacksmith |
| 錬金術 | れんきんじゅつ renkinjutsu | alchemy |
| 精錬 | せいれん seiren | refining; refinement; smelting |
| 百戦錬磨 | ひゃくせんれんま hyakusenrenma | veteran; battle-worn; schooled by adversity in many battles |
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.