King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “brad”

Romaji: kugi
nail; spike; tack; rivet

In Japanese, brad is , read (kugi).

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

  1. n nail; spike; tack; rivet; brad; (pachinko) pin

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

nail, tack, peg
on: テイ、チョウ
kun: くぎ
10 strokes

Other Japanese words for “brad”

WordReadingMeaning
ブラッド buraddobrad (nail)
きりくぎ kirikugibrad; double-pointed nail

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
くぎづけ kugizukenailing on; nailing down; nailing shut
ごすんくぎ gosunkugilong nail; spike
くぎぬき kuginukipincers; nail puller
めくぎ mekugirivet on a sword hilt
あいくぎ aikugidouble-pointed nail; dowel
きりくぎ kirikugibrad; double-pointed nail

See also: Chinese symbol for “brad”.

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.

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