Japanese symbol for “unravelling”

解明

かいめい

Romaji: kaimei

elucidation; explication; explaining; unravelling

In Japanese, unravelling is 解明, read かいめい (kaimei).

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 elucidation; explication; explaining; unravelling; clarification; understanding

Kanji and stroke order

解

unravel, notes, key

on: カイ、ゲ
kun: と.く、と.かす、と.ける、ほど.く

13 strokes · JLPT 2

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

Other Japanese words for “unravelling”

Word	Reading	Meaning
絵解き	えとき etoki	explanation (of an incident, one's reasoning, etc.); unravelling (a mystery); clearing up

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
理解	りかい rikai	understanding; comprehension; appreciation
解決	かいけつ kaiketsu	settlement; solution; resolution
解説	かいせつ kaisetsu	explanation; commentary; exposition
解散	かいさん kaisan	breaking up (a meeting, gathering, etc.); dispersal (e.g. of a crowd)
解放	かいほう kaihou	release; unleashing; liberation
解除	かいじょ kaijo	termination (of a contract); cancellation; rescinding
説明	せつめい setsumei	explanation; exposition; description
明日	あした ashita	tomorrow

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.