King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “wisdom”

Romaji: chie
wisdom; wit; sagacity; sense

In Japanese, wisdom is , read (chie).

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. n wisdom; wit; sagacity; sense; intelligence
  2. n prajna (insight leading to enlightenment) (Buddh)

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

know, wisdom
on: チ
kun: し.る、し.らせる
8 strokes · JLPT 3
favor, blessing, grace
on: ケイ、エ
kun: めぐ.む、めぐ.み
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “wisdom”

WordReadingMeaning
えいち eichiwisdom; intelligence; sagacity
え ewisdom; enlightenment
ち chiwisdom
さいき saikiwisdom
ふんべつ funbetsudiscretion; prudence; good sense

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しる shiruto know; to be aware (of); to be conscious (of)
ちしき chishikiknowledge; information
ごぞんじ gozonjiknowing; being aware (of)
ちじ chijiprefectural governor
しりあい shiriaiacquaintance
つうち tsuuchinotice; notification; report
おんけい onkeigrace; favor; favour
えびす ebisuEbisu; god of fishing and commerce

See also: Chinese symbol for “wisdom”.

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.