Japanese symbol for “tension”
緊張
きんちょう
Romaji: kinchou
tension; strain; nervousness; stress
In Japanese, tension is 緊張, read きんちょう (kinchou).
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 tension; strain; nervousness; stress
- n, vi, vs tensions (between countries, groups, etc.)
- n tonus; muscle tone (physiol)
Kanji and stroke order
counter for bows & stringed instruments, stretch, spread
on: チョウ
kun: は.る、-は.り、-ば.り
kun: は.る、-は.り、-ば.り
11 strokes · JLPT 2
Other Japanese words for “tension”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 緊迫 | きんぱく kinpaku | tension; strain |
| 切迫 | せっぱく seppaku | pressure; urgency; tension |
| 張り | はり hari | tension |
| 張力 | ちょうりょく chouryoku | tension; tensile force |
| 引っ張り | ひっぱり hippari | pulling; stretching; tension |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 緊急 | きんきゅう kinkyuu | urgency; emergency |
| 緊迫 | きんぱく kinpaku | tension; strain |
| 緊密 | きんみつ kinmitsu | rigour; rigor; closeness |
| 緊縮 | きんしゅく kinshuku | tightening; shrinkage; contraction |
| 緊縛 | きんばく kinbaku | binding tightly; tight binding |
| 主張 | しゅちょう shuchou | claim; insistence; assertion |
| 拡張 | かくちょう kakuchou | expansion; extension; enlargement |
| 出張 | しゅっちょう shutchou | business trip; official trip |
See also: Chinese symbol for “tension”.
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.