Japanese symbol for “banter”
揶揄
やゆ
Romaji: yayu
banter; raillery; ridicule; teasing
In Japanese, banter is 揶揄, read やゆ (yayu).
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, vs, vt banter; raillery; ridicule; teasing; making fun of
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “banter”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 冷やかす | ひやかす hiyakasu | to banter; to make fun of; to jeer at |
| 冷やかし | ひやかし hiyakashi | banter; teasing; chaffing |
| トーク | トーク tooku | talk (esp. by a talk-show host, or by a stage musician to the audience between songs); banter; chat |
| 諧謔 | かいぎゃく kaigyaku | joke; jest; banter |
| おちょくる | おちょくる ochokuru | to tease; to banter; to make fun of (someone) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 揶揄う | からかう karakau | to tease; to make fun of; to poke fun at |
| 揶揄い | からかい karakai | teasing; banter; ribbing |
| 揶揄嘲笑 | やゆちょうしょう yayuchoushou | ridicule and sneering; (casting) ridicule and scorn (upon) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “banter”.
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.