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

不

negative, non-, bad

on: フ、ブ

4 strokes · JLPT 3

良

good, pleasing, skilled

on: リョウ
kun: よ.い、-よ.い、い.い、-い.い

7 strokes · JLPT 2

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