Japanese symbol for “barbarian”
夷
い
Romaji: i
barbarian
In Japanese, barbarian is 夷, read い (i).
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 barbarian
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “barbarian”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| バルバロイ | バルバロイ barubaroi | barbarian |
| 蛮人 | ばんじん banjin | savage; barbarian; aboriginal |
| 夷人 | いじん ijin | barbarian; savage |
| 野蛮人 | やばんじん yabanjin | barbarian; savage |
| 未開人 | みかいじん mikaijin | barbarian; savage; savage (primitive) people (race) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蝦夷 | えみし emishi | Emishi; Ezo; non-Yamato peoples in northern Japan |
| 攘夷 | じょうい joui | expulsion of foreigners |
| 焼夷弾 | しょういだん shouidan | incendiary bomb; firebomb |
| 東夷 | あずまえびす azumaebisu | warrior from the eastern parts of Japan |
| 辛夷 | こぶし kobushi | kobus magnolia (Magnolia kobus) |
| 夷狄 | いてき iteki | barbarians; aliens |
See also: Chinese symbol for “barbarian”.
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.