King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “unyielding”

Romaji: kyoukou
firm; strong; unbending; unyielding

In Japanese, unyielding is , read (kyoukou).

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 firm; strong; unbending; unyielding; uncompromising; stubborn

Kanji and stroke order

strong
on: キョウ、ゴウ
kun: つよ.い、つよ.まる、つよ.める、し.いる
11 strokes · JLPT 3
stiff, hard
on: コウ
kun: かた.い
12 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “unyielding”

WordReadingMeaning
まけずぎらい makezugiraihating to lose; unyielding; unbending
しぶとい shibutoitenacious; tough; enduring
きかんき kikankiunruly (e.g. of a child); unyielding; disobedient
きかぬき kikanukiunruly (e.g. of a child); unyielding; disobedient
うつわのちいさい utsuwanochiisaiintolerant; small-minded; inflexible

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
べんきょう benkyoustudy
きょうか kyoukastrengthening; intensifying; reinforcement
つよい tsuyoistrong; potent; competent
きょうせい kyouseicompulsion; coercion; forcing (to do)
きょうりょく kyouryokupowerful; strong
さいきょう saikyoustrongest
こうか koukacoin
かたい kataihard; solid; tough

See also: Chinese symbol for “unyielding”.

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.