Japanese symbol for “chemo”

化療

かりょう

Romaji: karyou

chemo; chemotherapy

In Japanese, chemo is 化療, read かりょう (karyou).

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 chemo; chemotherapy

Kanji and stroke order

化

change, take the form of, influence

on: カ、ケ
kun: ば.ける、ば.かす、ふ.ける、け.する

4 strokes · JLPT 2

療

heal, cure

on: リョウ

17 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
文化	ぶんか bunka	culture; civilization; civilisation
変化	へんか henka	change; variation; alteration
強化	きょうか kyouka	strengthening; intensifying; reinforcement
悪化	あっか akka	deterioration; getting worse; worsening
化学	かがく kagaku	chemistry
化粧	けしょう keshou	make-up; makeup; cosmetics
医療	いりょう iryou	medical treatment; medical care
治療	ちりょう chiryou	(medical) treatment; care; therapy

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.