Japanese symbol for “bickering”
小競り合い
こぜりあい
Romaji: kozeriai
skirmish; brush (with the enemy); minor battle
In Japanese, bickering is 小競り合い, read こぜりあい (kozeriai).
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 skirmish; brush (with the enemy); minor battle
- n squabble; (petty) quarrel; argument; bickering
Written forms: 小競り合い、小競合い、小ぜり合い. Readings: こぜりあい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “bickering”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 角突き合い | つのつきあい tsunotsukiai | constant quarreling; constant quarrelling; bickering |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 小説 | しょうせつ shousetsu | novel; story; (work of) fiction |
| 小学校 | しょうがっこう shougakkou | primary school; elementary school; grade school |
| 小学生 | しょうがくせい shougakusei | elementary school student; primary school student; grade school student |
| 小型 | こがた kogata | small-sized; small-scale; miniature |
| 小さい | ちいさい chiisai | small; little; tiny |
| 縮小 | しゅくしょう shukushou | reduction; curtailment; cut |
| 競技 | きょうぎ kyougi | game; match; contest |
| 競争 | きょうそう kyousou | competition; contest; rivalry |
| 場合 | ばあい baai | case; occasion; situation |
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.