Japanese symbol for “boning”

骨抜き

ほねぬき

Romaji: honenuki

boning (fish or meat); deboning

In Japanese, boning is 骨抜き, read ほねぬき (honenuki).

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-no, n boning (fish or meat); deboning
adj-no, n watering down (a plan, bill, etc.); dilution; emasculation
adj-no, n taking the backbone out of; weakening

Kanji and stroke order

骨

skeleton, bone, remains

on: コツ
kun: ほね

10 strokes · JLPT 2

抜

slip out, extract, pull out

on: バツ、ハツ、ハイ
kun: ぬ.く、-ぬ.く、ぬ.き、ぬ.ける

7 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
骨折	こっせつ kossetsu	bone fracture
露骨	ろこつ rokotsu	open; unconcealed; undisguised
鉄骨	てっこつ tekkotsu	steel frame; steel beam; steel girder
骨格	こっかく kokkaku	skeleton; skeletal structure; build
背骨	せぼね sebone	spine; backbone; spinal column
遺骨	いこつ ikotsu	cremated remains (esp. the bones); ashes
抜群	ばつぐん batsugun	outstanding; excellent; exceptional
抜き	ぬき nuki	leaving out; omitting; skipping

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.