Japanese symbol for “atrocious”
凶悪
きょうあく
Romaji: kyouaku
atrocious; heinous; fiendish; brutal
In Japanese, atrocious is 凶悪, read きょうあく (kyouaku).
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
- adj-na, n atrocious; heinous; fiendish; brutal; vicious
Written forms: 凶悪、兇悪. Readings: きょうあく.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “atrocious”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 無残 | むざん muzan | cruel; merciless; atrocious |
| 凶暴 | きょうぼう kyoubou | ferocious; brutal; atrocious |
| 惨い | むごい mugoi | cruel; merciless; pitiless |
| 惨たらしい | むごたらしい mugotarashii | (incredibly) cruel; atrocious; brutal |
| 悪逆無道 | あくぎゃくむどう akugyakumudou | treacherous; heinous; treasonous |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 凶器 | きょうき kyouki | dangerous weapon; lethal weapon; deadly weapon |
| 元凶 | げんきょう genkyou | ringleader; main culprit |
| 凶暴 | きょうぼう kyoubou | ferocious; brutal; atrocious |
| 凶作 | きょうさく kyousaku | bad harvest; poor crop |
| 大凶 | だいきょう daikyou | terrible luck (esp. on an omikuji slip); very bad luck |
| 最悪 | さいあく saiaku | worst |
| 悪口 | わるぐち waruguchi | (verbal) abuse; speaking ill of people; bad-mouthing |
| 悪化 | あっか akka | deterioration; getting worse; worsening |
See also: Chinese symbol for “atrocious”.
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.