Japanese symbol for “bad”
不良
ふりょう
Romaji: furyou
bad; poor; inferior; defective
In Japanese, bad is 不良, read ふりょう (furyou).
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, adj-no, n bad; poor; inferior; defective
- adj-na, adj-no, n delinquent; hoodlum; hooligan
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “bad”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 悪い | わるい warui | bad; poor; undesirable |
| 不可 | ふか fuka | wrong; bad; improper |
| 不味い | まずい mazui | bad(-tasting); unpalatable; unsavoury |
| 邪 | よこしま yokoshima | wicked; evil; wrong |
| 劣悪 | れつあく retsuaku | poor (quality, conditions, etc.); bad; inferior |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不明 | ふめい fumei | unclear; obscure; indistinct |
| 不安 | ふあん fuan | anxiety; uneasiness; worry |
| 不足 | ふそく fusoku | insufficiency; deficiency; shortage |
| 不満 | ふまん fuman | dissatisfaction; discontent; displeasure |
| 不可能 | ふかのう fukanou | impossible |
| 不思議 | ふしぎ fushigi | wonderful; marvelous; strange |
| 良い | よい yoi | good; excellent; fine |
| 仲良く | なかよく nakayoku | on good terms (with); on friendly terms (with); (getting along) well |
See also: Chinese symbol for “bad”.
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.
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