King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “deafness”

Romaji: nanchou
hardness of hearing; bradyacusia; deafness; hearing loss

In Japanese, deafness is , read (nanchou).

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. n hardness of hearing; bradyacusia; deafness; hearing loss (med)
  2. n having poor reception (radio, etc.)

Kanji and stroke order

difficult, impossible, trouble
on: ナン
kun: かた.い、-がた.い、むずか.しい、むづか.しい
18 strokes · JLPT 2
listen, headstrong, naughty
on: チョウ、テイ
kun: き.く、ゆる.す
17 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “deafness”

WordReadingMeaning
ろうあ rouadeafness
つんぼ tsunbodeafness; deaf person
ろう roudeafness
そらみみ soramimi(feigned) deafness
みみのふじゆう miminofujiyuudeafness; the deaf

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
むずかしい muzukashiidifficult; hard; troublesome
こんなん konnandifficulty; hardship; trouble
ひなん hinantaking refuge; finding shelter; evacuation
ひなん hinancriticism; blame; censure
なんみん nanminrefugee; displaced person
とうなん tounantheft; robbery
しちょう shichoulooking and listening; (television) viewing; watching
ちょうしゅう choushuuaudience; attendance; hearers

See also: Chinese symbol for “deafness”.

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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