King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “commotion”

Romaji: haran
disturbance; trouble; commotion; uproar

In Japanese, commotion is , read (haran).

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 disturbance; trouble; commotion; uproar; turmoil
  2. n ups and downs (e.g. in life); vicissitudes
  3. n small and large waves

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

waves, billows, Poland
on: ハ
kun: なみ
8 strokes · JLPT 2
riot, war, disorder
on: ラン、ロン
kun: みだ.れる、みだ.る、みだ.す、みだ
7 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “commotion”

WordReadingMeaning
どうよう douyoudisturbance; unrest; agitation
かくらん kakurandisturbance; confusion; perturbation
せんぷう senpuusensation; commotion; hullabaloo
てんやわんや ten'yawan'yaconfusion; disturbance; commotion
どよめき doyomekicommotion; stir

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
でんぱ denparadio wave; reception; signal
つなみ tsunamitsunami; tidal wave
なにわ naniwaNaniwa (former name for Osaka region)
はちょう hachouwavelength
しゅうはすう shuuhasuufrequency (esp. of waveforms)
こんらん konrandisorder; chaos; confusion
はんらん hanraninsurrection; mutiny; rebellion
らんよう ran'youabuse; misuse; misappropriation

See also: Chinese symbol for “commotion”.

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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