Japanese symbol for “backfire”
向かい火
むかいび
Romaji: mukaibi
backfire (to defend against forest fires)
In Japanese, backfire is 向かい火, read むかいび (mukaibi).
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 backfire (to defend against forest fires)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “backfire”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 逆凪 | さかなぎ sakanagi | backfire (of a spell, curse, etc.) |
| 仇になる | あだになる adaninaru | to backfire; to have a harmful result |
| 仇となる | あだとなる adatonaru | to backfire; to have a harmful result |
| 裏目に出る | うらめにでる uramenideru | to backfire; to produce a result opposite to what was expected or intended |
| バックファイア | バックファイア bakkufaia | backfire |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 方向 | ほうこう houkou | direction; orientation; bearing |
| 傾向 | けいこう keikou | tendency; trend; inclination |
| 向上 | こうじょう koujou | elevation; rise; improvement |
| 向き | むき muki | direction; orientation; aspect |
| 向こう | むこう mukou | opposite side; other side |
| 意向 | いこう ikou | intention; inclination; mind |
| 火災 | かさい kasai | conflagration; fire |
| 花火 | はなび hanabi | fireworks |
See also: Chinese symbol for “backfire”.
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.