Japanese symbol for “covet”
貪る
むさぼる
Romaji: musaboru
to covet; to crave; to be greedy for; to hunger for
In Japanese, covet is 貪る, read むさぼる (musaboru).
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
- v5r, vt to covet; to crave; to be greedy for; to hunger for; to lust insatiably for
- v5r, vt to indulge in; to do ceaselessly; to keep doing (without losing interest)
- v5r, vt to eat greedily; to devour
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “covet”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 欲張る | よくばる yokubaru | to be greedy; to be avaricious; to want badly |
| 欲をかく | よくをかく yokuokaku | to be greedy; to covet |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 貪欲 | どんよく don'yoku | greedy; avaricious; covetous |
| 貪食 | どんしょく donshoku | voracity; ravenousness |
| 貪り食う | むさぼりくう musaborikuu | to eat greedily; to devour; to wolf down |
| 貪汚 | たんお tan'o | greed; corruption |
See also: Chinese symbol for “covet”.
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.