Japanese symbol for “brutal”
残忍
ざんにん
Romaji: zannin
brutal; cruel; merciless; ruthless
In Japanese, brutal is 残忍, read ざんにん (zannin).
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 brutal; cruel; merciless; ruthless; cold-blooded
Written forms: 残忍、惨忍. Readings: ざんにん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “brutal”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 残酷 | ざんこく zankoku | cruel; brutal; ruthless |
| 凶悪 | きょうあく kyouaku | atrocious; heinous; fiendish |
| 残虐 | ざんぎゃく zangyaku | cruel; brutal; savage |
| 凶暴 | きょうぼう kyoubou | ferocious; brutal; atrocious |
| 殺伐 | さつばつ satsubatsu | brutal (atmosphere, society, etc.); savage; fierce |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 残念 | ざんねん zannen | regrettable; unfortunate; disappointing |
| 残り | のこり nokori | remainder; remnant; the rest |
| 残す | のこす nokosu | to leave (behind) |
| 残業 | ざんぎょう zangyou | overtime (work) |
| 残る | のこる nokoru | to remain; to be left |
| 残酷 | ざんこく zankoku | cruel; brutal; ruthless |
| 忍者 | にんじゃ ninja | ninja; person trained in ninjutsu and employed for covert purposes in feudal Japan |
| 忍耐 | にんたい nintai | endurance; perseverance; patience |
See also: Chinese symbol for “brutal”.
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.