Japanese symbol for “bane”

泣かせ

なかせ

Romaji: nakase

annoyance (to); bane (of); constant worry (to)

In Japanese, bane is 泣かせ, read なかせ (nakase).

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-suf annoyance (to); bane (of); constant worry (to)

Kanji and stroke order

泣

cry, weep, moan

on: キュウ
kun: な.く

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
泣き	なき naki	weeping; lamenting
号泣	ごうきゅう goukyuu	crying loudly; bawling; wailing
泣き声	なきごえ nakigoe	cry (e.g. of a baby); sob; whine
泣く	なく naku	to cry; to shed tears; to weep
泣かせる	なかせる nakaseru	to make someone cry; to move someone to tears
悔し泣き	くやしなき kuyashinaki	crying from vexation; tears of regret

See also: Chinese symbol for “bane”.

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.