Japanese symbol for “barren”
不毛
ふもう
Romaji: fumou
barren; sterile; infertile
In Japanese, barren is 不毛, read ふもう (fumou).
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 barren; sterile; infertile
- adj-na, adj-no, n unproductive (e.g. discussion); fruitless
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “barren”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 殺風景 | さっぷうけい sappuukei | dreary; bleak; monotonous |
| 寥々 | りょうりょう ryouryou | lonely; dreary; desolate |
| 蕭寥 | しょうりょう shouryou | desolate; lonely; barren |
| 痩せた | やせた yaseta | barren; infertile; sterile |
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 |
| 髪の毛 | かみのけ kaminoke | hair (on the head); (a) hair |
| 毛布 | もうふ moufu | blanket |
See also: Chinese symbol for “barren”.
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.