King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “dangerous”

Romaji: abunai
dangerous; risky; hazardous; perilous

In Japanese, dangerous is , read (abunai).

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. adj-i dangerous; risky; hazardous; perilous; precarious
  2. adj-i in danger; in jeopardy; critical; grave; at risk
  3. adj-i uncertain; unreliable; insecure; unsteady; doubtful
  4. adj-i close (call); narrow (escape)
  5. adj-i sketchy; shady; dodgy
  6. int look out!; watch out!; be careful!

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

dangerous, fear, uneasy
on: キ
kun: あぶ.ない、あや.うい、あや.ぶむ
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “dangerous”

WordReadingMeaning
あやうい ayauidangerous; in danger; facing imminent danger
ぶっそう bussoudangerous; unsettled; troubled
けんあく ken'akudangerous; perilous; threatening
やばい yabaidangerous; risky
あぶなっかしい abunakkashiidangerous; critical; grave

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
きけん kikendanger; peril; hazard
きき kikicrisis; critical situation; emergency
きぐ kiguapprehension; misgivings; uneasiness
あやうく ayaukubarely; narrowly
あやうい ayauidangerous; in danger; facing imminent danger

See also: Chinese symbol for “dangerous”.

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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