King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “confuse”

Romaji: machigaeru
to make a mistake (in); to commit an error; to get wrong; to do incorrectly

In Japanese, confuse is , read (machigaeru).

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. v1, vt to make a mistake (in); to commit an error; to get wrong; to do incorrectly
  2. v1, vt to mistake (one thing for another); to confuse

Kanji and stroke order

interval, space
on: カン、ケン
kun: あいだ、ま、あい
12 strokes · JLPT 4
difference, differ
on: イ
kun: ちが.う、ちが.い、ちが.える、-ちが.える
13 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “confuse”

WordReadingMeaning
まちがう machigauto mistake (one thing with another); to confuse
ばかす bakasuto bewitch; to confuse; to enchant
けむにまく kemunimakuto confuse (someone); to befuddle; to bewilder
くるわせる kuruwaseruto drive mad; to upset; to disturb
まがえる magaeruto imitate; to confuse

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
じかん jikantime
にんげん ningenhuman being; human; person
きかん kikanperiod; term; interval
ねんかん nenkan(period of) a year
なかま nakamacompanion; fellow; friend
まちがい machigaimistake; error; blunder
ちがい chigaidifference; distinction; discrepancy
いはん ihanviolation; offense; offence

See also: Chinese symbol for “confuse”.

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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