Japanese symbol for “darn”
繕う
つくろう
Romaji: tsukurou
to mend; to patch up; to repair; to fix
In Japanese, darn is 繕う, read つくろう (tsukurou).
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
- v5u, vt to mend; to patch up; to repair; to fix; to darn
- v5u, vt to fix (hair, clothes, appearance, etc.); to adjust; to tidy up; to groom
- v5u, vt to keep up appearances; to cover up (e.g. a mistake); to gloss over
- v5u, vt to treat (illness, injury, etc.)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “darn”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| チェッ | チェッ che | tsk; tut; shoot |
| 仕舞った | しまった shimatta | darn it!; darn!; oops! |
| 縢る | かがる kagaru | to stitch; to hem; to mend |
| 仕舞うた | しもうた shimouta | darn it!; darn!; oops! |
| 仕舞た | しもた shimota | darn it!; darn!; oops! |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 修繕 | しゅうぜん shuuzen | repair; mending |
| 営繕 | えいぜん eizen | maintenance and repair; upkeep (of equipment) |
| 取り繕う | とりつくろう toritsukurou | to keep up (appearances); to put up (a good front) |
| 繕い | つくろい tsukuroi | mending; repair; darning |
| 見繕う | みつくろう mitsukurou | to choose (something) at one's discretion; to use one's discretion in choosing |
See also: Chinese symbol for “darn”.
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.