Japanese symbol for “crumble”
崩れる
くずれる
Romaji: kuzureru
to collapse; to crumble
In Japanese, crumble is 崩れる, read くずれる (kuzureru).
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
- v1, vi to collapse; to crumble
- v1, vi to get out of shape; to lose one's shape; to become disorganized; to become untidy
- v1, vi to break down; to be thrown into disarray
- v1, vi to crash (stock market); to slump; to decline
- v1, vi to break money into small change
- v1, vi to turn bad (e.g. weather); to change for the worse; to deteriorate
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “crumble”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 倒れる | たおれる taoreru | to be destroyed (in a collapse); to collapse; to cave in |
| 腐る | くさる kusaru | to corrode; to weather; to crumble |
| クランブル | クランブル kuranburu | crumble |
| 砕ける | くだける kudakeru | to collapse; to crumble; to decline |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 崩壊 | ほうかい houkai | collapse; crumbling; breaking down |
| 崩れ | くずれ kuzure | crumbling; collapse; ruin |
| 雪崩 | なだれ nadare | avalanche; snowslide |
| 崩す | くずす kuzusu | to destroy; to demolish; to pull down |
| 崩落 | ほうらく houraku | collapse; break; cave-in |
See also: Chinese symbol for “crumble”.
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.