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Kanji for Discipline
The kanji most commonly used for "Discipline" are 修、鍛、律.
修
Kanji that mean Discipline
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修
to repair, to study
Also associated with to cultivate.
Onyomi: shu, shuu Kunyomi: osa.maru, osa.meru 10 strokes Jōyō
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鍛
to forge, to temper, to train
Onyomi: tan Kunyomi: kita.eru 17 strokes Jōyō
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律
rule, musical scale
Also associated with to follow.
Onyomi: retsu, richi, ritsu 9 strokes Jōyō
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懲
discipline, chastise, learn a lesson
Onyomi: choh Kunyomi: korashimeru, korasu, koriru 18 strokes Jōyō
English ‘discipline’ covers three different things, and Japanese uses a different character for each.
修 is discipline as self-cultivation — training yourself toward mastery. 修行 (shugyō) is ascetic or artistic practice and 研修 is professional training. The same character also means to repair or put right (修理, 修正), because both senses are about bringing something into proper order.
鍛 is discipline as forging. Its literal sense is metalwork — 鍛冶 is smithing — and 鍛える means to temper steel or to train a body hard. 鍛錬 is the word for that grinding, repetitive kind of discipline. 律 is discipline as rule and self-command: 規律 is order within an organization, 自律 is self-discipline.
懲 is the one to watch. It is purely punitive: 懲戒 is a disciplinary penalty, 懲罰 is punishment, and 懲役 is a prison sentence with hard labor. 懲りる means to learn a lesson by suffering for it. This is discipline done to you, not chosen by you.
Before you use Discipline kanji
修 and 鍛 are the safe ones — self-cultivation and hard training — and 鍛錬 is a natural two-character choice. Do not use 懲: its everyday company is 懲役, a prison sentence with hard labor, so it reads as punishment inflicted rather than discipline chosen.