Japanese symbol for “botched”

不細工

ぶさいく

Romaji: busaiku

clumsy (work); awkward; poorly made; botched

In Japanese, botched is 不細工, read ぶさいく (busaiku).

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, n clumsy (work); awkward; poorly made; botched
adj-na, n ugly (of a person); unattractive; plain; homely

Written forms: 不細工、無細工. Readings: ぶさいく、ぶざいく、ブサイク、ぶっさいく.

Kanji and stroke order

不

negative, non-, bad

on: フ、ブ

4 strokes · JLPT 3

細

dainty, get thin, taper

on: サイ
kun: ほそ.い、ほそ.る、こま.か、こま.かい

11 strokes · JLPT 2

工

craft, construction, katakana e radical (no. 48)

on: コウ、ク、グ

3 strokes · JLPT 3

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
詳細	しょうさい shousai	details; particulars; specifics
細胞	さいぼう saibou	cell
工場	こうじょう koujou	factory; plant; mill

See also: Chinese symbol for “botched”.

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.