Japanese symbol for “truism”

自明の理

じめいのり

Romaji: jimeinori

self-evident truth; obvious fact; truism; axiom

In Japanese, truism is 自明の理, read じめいのり (jimeinori).

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

exp, n self-evident truth; obvious fact; truism; axiom

Kanji and stroke order

自

oneself

on: ジ、シ
kun: みずか.ら、おの.ずから、おの.ずと

6 strokes · JLPT 3

明

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

理

logic, arrangement, reason

on: リ
kun: ことわり

11 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
自分	じぶん jibun	myself; yourself; oneself
自身	じしん jishin	(one's) self; oneself; yourself
自由	じゆう jiyuu	freedom; liberty
自然	しぜん shizen	nature
自己	じこ jiko	self; oneself
自動	じどう jidou	automatic
説明	せつめい setsumei	explanation; exposition; description
明日	あした ashita	tomorrow
理由	りゆう riyuu	reason; grounds; pretext

See also: Chinese symbol for “truism”.

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.