King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “degeneration”

Romaji: akka
deterioration; getting worse; worsening; aggravation

In Japanese, degeneration is , read (akka).

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, vi, vs deterioration; getting worse; worsening; aggravation; degeneration; corruption

Kanji and stroke order

bad, vice, rascal
on: アク、オ
kun: わる.い、わる-、あ.し、にく.い
11 strokes · JLPT 3
change, take the form of, influence
on: カ、ケ
kun: ば.ける、ば.かす、ふ.ける、け.する
4 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “degeneration”

WordReadingMeaning
すいたい suitaidecline; degeneration; decay
たいか taikadegeneration; retrogression; atrophy
たいはい taihai(moral) decay; (social) decline; decadence
へんしつ henshitsualteration (of character or essence); change in quality; transformation
へんせい henseidenaturation; degeneration

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さいあく saiakuworst
わるぐち waruguchi(verbal) abuse; speaking ill of people; bad-mouthing
あくま akumadevil; demon; fiend
わるい waruibad; poor; undesirable
あくしつ akushitsumalicious; vicious; malignant
ぶんか bunkaculture; civilization; civilisation
へんか henkachange; variation; alteration
きょうか kyoukastrengthening; intensifying; reinforcement

See also: Chinese symbol for “degeneration”.

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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