Dignity with a cold edge. One of the most admired characters in the language.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Genuinely admired. It describes exactly the quality Japanese people find most impressive in a person: dignity held without effort or display. Increasingly popular as a given name for that reason.

Meaning

Literally: ice radical + granary
Actually: The bearing of someone composed, upright and quietly unshakeable — with a note of cold, clear air in it. 凛とした ('rin-like') is high praise.

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Real and current, mostly as 凛とした or as a name.

Coolness●●●●●

The ice radical on the left gives it its whole personality. Beautiful, uncommon on foreigners, and it says something specific.

Watch out

lowVery popular as a girl's given name in the last two decades. Some readers will see a name.

On skin

凛

Orientation: either

Mincho or fine brush. The two-stroke ice radical must stay crisp — it's the whole character.