King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “terse”

Romaji: kanmei
terse; concise; simple and clear

In Japanese, terse is , read (kanmei).

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

  1. adj-na, n terse; concise; simple and clear

Kanji and stroke order

simplicity, brevity
on: カン、ケン
kun: えら.ぶ、ふだ
18 strokes · JLPT 2
bright, light
on: メイ、ミョウ、ミン
kun: あ.かり、あか.るい、あか.るむ、あか.らむ
8 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “terse”

WordReadingMeaning
かんけい kankeicrisp; curt; laconic

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
かんたん kantansimple; easy; uncomplicated
かんい kan'isimple; simplified
しょかん shokanletter; note; epistle
かんそ kansosimple; plain; modest
かんけつ kanketsuconcise; brief; succinct
かんりゃく kanryakusimple; brief
せつめい setsumeiexplanation; exposition; description
あした ashitatomorrow

See also: Chinese symbol for “terse”.

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.