Japanese symbol for “contrary”
反対
はんたい
Romaji: hantai
opposition; resistance; antagonism; hostility
In Japanese, contrary is 反対, read はんたい (hantai).
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, adj-no, n opposition; resistance; antagonism; hostility; objection; dissent
- adj-no, n reverse; opposite; inverse; contrary
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “contrary”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 裏腹 | うらはら urahara | opposite; reverse; contrary |
| 裏 | うら ura | opposite (of a prediction, common sense, etc.); contrary |
| あべこべ | あべこべ abekobe | contrary; opposite; inverse |
| 裏返し | うらがえし uragaeshi | flip side; opposite; contrary |
| 半面 | はんめん hanmen | one side; a half; the other side |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 反応 | はんのう hannou | reaction; response |
| 違反 | いはん ihan | violation; offense; offence |
| 反発 | はんぱつ hanpatsu | opposition; rebellion; revolt |
| 反省 | はんせい hansei | reflection; reconsideration; introspection |
| 反乱 | はんらん hanran | insurrection; mutiny; rebellion |
| 対応 | たいおう taiou | correspondence (to); equivalence |
| 絶対 | ぜったい zettai | absolutely; definitely; unconditionally |
| 対象 | たいしょう taishou | target; object (of worship, study, etc.); subject (of taxation, etc.) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “contrary”.
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.