ninjutsu means A Japanese martial art that is a collection of techniques originally practiced for Japanese espionage purposes, and includes methods of gathering information, nondetection, avoidance, and misdirection techniques. Used by ninja (忍者).
ninjutsu is pronounced /nɪnd͡ʒɪtsu/.
Why “ninjutsu” is a great word
A Japanese martial art and collection of techniques originally practiced for espionage, encompassing methods of information gathering, stealth, avoidance, and misdirection. From Japanese 忍術 (ninjutsu), from 忍 (nin, "endurance, stealth, perseverance") + 術 (jutsu, "art, technique, skill"). Unlike bujutsu, which codifies the open combat of the battlefield, or kenjutsu, which refines the samurai’s honor-bound swordplay, ninjutsu is the art of the unseen: the footprint that disappears in morning dew, the silence of a shadow passing through moonlight, and the coded message hidden in plain sight as a merchant's inventory. It is the profound understanding that the most potent strike is often the one never perceived as an attack.
Etymology
From Japanese 忍術 (ninjutsu).
noun
- A Japanese martial art that is a collection of techniques originally practiced for Japanese espionage purposes, and includes methods of gathering information, nondetection, avoidance, and misdirection techniques. Used by ninja (忍者).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- ninpo 66% match — ninjutsu vs ninjutsu →
- kenjutsu 59% match — Japanese swordsmanship vs ninjutsu →
- taijutsu 55% match — Japanese martial arts techniques that rely on a set of body movements without weapons. vs ninjutsu →
- jujitsu 54% match — A Japanese martial art and method of self-defence, typically unarmed, emphasizing manipulating an opponent’s force against themselves rather than directly opposing it with force, and using a wide variety of holds, throws, and defensive techniques. vs ninjutsu →
- spycraft 51% match — The skills and techniques employed by spies. vs ninjutsu →
- budo 50% match — Japanese martial arts. vs ninjutsu →
- kenpo 50% match — Any of various Japanese martial arts. vs ninjutsu →
- aikido 50% match — A Japanese martial art developed from jujitsu and making use of holds and throws. vs ninjutsu →