Japanese symbol for “degenerate”
生臭い
なまぐさい
Romaji: namagusai
smelling of fish; fishy; smelling of blood; bloody
In Japanese, degenerate is 生臭い, read なまぐさい (namagusai).
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-i smelling of fish; fishy; smelling of blood; bloody
- adj-i degenerate (of a monk); depraved; corrupt; fallen
- adj-i worldly; mundane; secular; common; ordinary
- adj-i fishy; suspicious; questionable
Written forms: 生臭い、腥い、生ぐさい、なま臭い. Readings: なまぐさい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “degenerate”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 堕す | だす dasu | to degenerate; to lapse into |
| 堕する | だする dasuru | to degenerate; to lapse into |
| 退廃的 | たいはいてき taihaiteki | degenerate; decadent; corrupt |
| 変質者 | へんしつしゃ henshitsusha | degenerate; pervert; deviant |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 生活 | せいかつ seikatsu | life; living |
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor; master |
| 人生 | じんせい jinsei | (one's) life |
| 学生 | がくせい gakusei | student (esp. a university student) |
| 発生 | はっせい hassei | occurrence; incidence; outbreak |
| 誕生 | たんじょう tanjou | birth (of a person); nativity |
| 臭い | くさい kusai | stinking; smelly |
| 悪臭 | あくしゅう akushuu | bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor |
See also: Chinese symbol for “degenerate”.
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.