Japanese symbol for “apostasy”
棄教
ききょう
Romaji: kikyou
apostasy; renunciation (e.g. of a religion); defection
In Japanese, apostasy is 棄教, read ききょう (kikyou).
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.
Meanings
- n, vi, vs apostasy; renunciation (e.g. of a religion); defection
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “apostasy”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 変節 | へんせつ hensetsu | betrayal; defection; treachery |
| 背教 | はいきょう haikyou | apostasy; renunciation (e.g. of a religion); defection |
| 変心 | へんしん henshin | change of mind; inconstancy; apostasy |
| 転び | ころび korobi | renouncing Christianity and converting to Buddhism (during the Edo period); apostasy |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 放棄 | ほうき houki | abandonment; renouncement; renunciation |
| 廃棄 | はいき haiki | disposal; abandonment; scrapping |
| 破棄 | はき haki | tearing up and discarding (e.g. documents); destruction |
| 棄権 | きけん kiken | abstention (from voting); renunciation (of a right); withdrawal (from a contest) |
| 棄却 | ききゃく kikyaku | rejection; dismissal; turning down |
| 投棄 | とうき touki | abandonment; giving up; throwing away |
| 教育 | きょういく kyouiku | education; schooling; training |
| 教え | おしえ oshie | teaching; instruction; teachings |
See also: Chinese symbol for “apostasy”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.