Japanese symbol for “tenacious”
粘り強い
ねばりづよい
Romaji: nebarizuyoi
tenacious; persevering; persistent; stubborn
In Japanese, tenacious is 粘り強い, read ねばりづよい (nebarizuyoi).
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 tenacious; persevering; persistent; stubborn; steadfast
- adj-i sticky
Written forms: 粘り強い、ねばり強い. Readings: ねばりづよい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tenacious”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 頑強 | がんきょう gankyou | stubborn; dogged; persistent |
| 執拗 | しつよう shitsuyou | persistent; obstinate; tenacious |
| 強靭 | きょうじん kyoujin | tough; strong; tenacious |
| しぶとい | しぶとい shibutoi | tenacious; tough; enduring |
| 執念深い | しゅうねんぶかい shuunenbukai | tenacious; persistent; stubborn |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 粘土 | ねんど nendo | clay |
| 粘り | ねばり nebari | stickiness; viscosity |
| 粘着 | ねんちゃく nenchaku | cohesion; adhesion |
| 粘膜 | ねんまく nenmaku | mucous membrane; mucosa |
| 粘る | ねばる nebaru | to be sticky; to be adhesive |
| 勉強 | べんきょう benkyou | study |
| 強化 | きょうか kyouka | strengthening; intensifying; reinforcement |
| 強い | つよい tsuyoi | strong; potent; competent |
See also: Chinese symbol for “tenacious”.
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.