Kanji for “strength”

Power, resilience, ability, or force; the intended sense can be physical or personal.

力 chikara

Closest natural translation · misunderstanding risk Low

Reading: chikara — Common standalone reading
About the reading: A natural standalone noun for power, force, or strength.
Literal meaning: Power, strength, force
What it suggests: Broad physical or personal power, ability, energy, or effort.
When to use it: For strength in the broadest and most direct sense.
On its own: Natural as a standalone noun.
In compounds: Very natural in compounds such as 力強い (powerful, reassuring).
As a tattoo: Simple and recognizable, though its two-stroke shape can feel visually minimal.
Worth knowing: Chikara is a real male given name written with this character, so alone it can read as somebody's name.

強さ tsuyosa

Closest natural translation · misunderstanding risk Low

Reading: tsuyosa — Common standalone reading
About the reading: The standard noun meaning strength or how strong something is.
Literal meaning: Strength, degree of being strong
What it suggests: Strength as a quality, including mental resilience or physical power.
When to use it: When the English noun strength is meant literally rather than as a command to be strong.
On its own: Natural as a complete noun.
In compounds: Natural Japanese, though it is a phrase with okurigana rather than kanji alone.
As a tattoo: Linguistically accurate, but the kana さ makes it less like a single-kanji emblem.

不屈 fukutsu

Symbolic choice, not a literal translation · misunderstanding risk Low

Reading: fukutsu — Common compound reading
About the reading: A standard compound meaning never yielding or indomitable.
Literal meaning: Not bend, not yield
What it suggests: Resilience and refusal to be defeated, rather than raw physical strength.
When to use it: For a determined, unbreakable, or adversity-focused meaning.
On its own: Natural as a formal noun or adjective-like word, not casual speech.
In compounds: Natural as the complete word 不屈 and in 不屈の精神.
As a tattoo: Strong and intentional; it reads as an ideal, not a generic strength label.

Before it is permanent: have a fluent Japanese speaker check the exact characters in the final stencil, not in an email. Fonts substitute look-alike characters, and a shop that cannot read Japanese cannot catch it.

Check characters you already have