Japanese symbol for “deaf”

耳の不自由

みみのふじゆう

Romaji: miminofujiyuu

deafness; the deaf

In Japanese, deaf is 耳の不自由, read みみのふじゆう (miminofujiyuu).

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

adj-na, n deafness; the deaf

Kanji and stroke order

耳

ear

on: ジ
kun: みみ

6 strokes · JLPT 4

不

negative, non-, bad

on: フ、ブ

4 strokes · JLPT 3

自

oneself

on: ジ、シ
kun: みずか.ら、おの.ずから、おの.ずと

6 strokes · JLPT 3

由

wherefore, a reason

on: ユ、ユウ、ユイ
kun: よし、よ.る

5 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
耳元	みみもと mimimoto	close to the ear
耳目	じもく jimoku	eyes and ears; seeing and hearing
耳障り	みみざわり mimizawari	hard (on the ears); offensive (to the ear); rasping
中耳炎	ちゅうじえん chuujien	otitis media; middle-ear infection
初耳	はつみみ hatsumimi	something heard for the first time; hearing something for the first time
内耳	ないじ naiji	inner ear
不明	ふめい fumei	unclear; obscure; indistinct
不安	ふあん fuan	anxiety; uneasiness; worry
自分	じぶん jibun	myself; yourself; oneself
理由	りゆう riyuu	reason; grounds; pretext

See also: Chinese symbol for “deaf”.

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.