Japanese symbol for “crayfish”
蝲蛄
ざりがに
Romaji: zarigani
crayfish (esp. the Japanese crayfish or red swamp crayfish); crawfish
In Japanese, crayfish is 蝲蛄, read ざりがに (zarigani).
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 crayfish (esp. the Japanese crayfish or red swamp crayfish); crawfish
Written forms: 蝲蛄、蜊蛄、躄蟹. Readings: ザリガニ、ざりがに.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “crayfish”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海老蟹 | えびがに ebigani | crayfish (esp. red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蝦蛄 | しゃこ shako | mantis shrimp (any marine crustacean of order Stomatopoda, esp. the species Oratosquilla oratoria); mantis crab; squilla |
| 螻蛄 | けら kera | mole cricket (esp. the Oriental mole cricket, Gryllotalpa orientalis) |
| 飛螻蛄 | とびけら tobikera | caddisfly; caddis fly (any moth-like insect of the order Trichoptera) |
| 川螻蛄 | かわげら kawagera | stonefly (any insect of order Plecoptera, esp. those of family Perlidae) |
| 螻蛄才 | けらざい kerazai | being a jack of all trades and master of none |
See also: Chinese symbol for “crayfish”.
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.