Chinese symbol for “rot”
腐烂
fǔ làn
Traditional: 腐爛
to rot; to putrefy; (fig.) corrupt
The closest CC-CEDICT match for rot is 腐烂 (fǔ làn), defined as: to rot; to putrefy; (fig.) corrupt.
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.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “rot”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 腐化 | fǔ huà | to rot; to decay |
| 腐坏 (腐壞) | fǔ huài | to rot; to spoil |
| 腐败 (腐敗) | fǔ bài | corruption; to corrupt |
| 烂 (爛) | làn | soft; mushy; well-cooked and soft |
| 腐蚀 (腐蝕) | fǔ shí | corrosion; to corrode (degrade chemically) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 腐烂.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 腐败 (腐敗) | fǔ bài | corruption; to corrupt |
| 豆腐 | dòu fu | tofu; bean curd |
| 贪腐 (貪腐) | tān fǔ | corruption |
| 腐蚀 (腐蝕) | fǔ shí | corrosion; to corrode (degrade chemically) |
| 腐朽 | fǔ xiǔ | rotten; decayed |
| 灿烂 (燦爛) | càn làn | to glitter; brilliant |
| 破烂 (破爛) | pò làn | worn-out; dilapidated; tattered; ragged; (coll.) rubbish; junk |
| 烂摊子 (爛攤子) | làn tān zi | terrible mess; shambles |
See also: Japanese symbol for “rot”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.