Japanese symbol for “wincing”

畏縮

いしゅく

Romaji: ishuku

wincing; cowering; shrinking; flinching

In Japanese, wincing is 畏縮, read いしゅく (ishuku).

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 wincing; cowering; shrinking; flinching; recoiling

Kanji and stroke order

畏

fear, majestic, graciously

on: イ
kun: おそ.れる、かしこま.る、かしこ、かしこ.し

9 strokes

縮

shrink, contract, shrivel

on: シュク
kun: ちぢ.む、ちぢ.まる、ちぢ.める、ちぢ.れる

17 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
畏怖	いふ ifu	awe; fear; dread
畏敬	いけい ikei	reverence; awe; respect
畏友	いゆう iyuu	one's esteemed friend
畏まる	かしこまる kashikomaru	to obey respectfully; to humble oneself; to sit straight (upright, respectfully, attentively)
畏服	いふく ifuku	awe
縮小	しゅくしょう shukushou	reduction; curtailment; cut
短縮	たんしゅく tanshuku	shortening; contraction; reduction
圧縮	あっしゅく asshuku	compression

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.