King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “devastate”

Romaji: arasu
to lay waste; to devastate; to damage

In Japanese, devastate is , read (arasu).

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. v5s, vt to lay waste; to devastate; to damage
  2. v5s, vt to invade; to break into
  3. v5s, vt to troll (e.g. web forums); to spam (comp)

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

laid waste, rough, rude
on: コウ
kun: あ.らす、あ.れる、あら.い、すさ.ぶ
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “devastate”

WordReadingMeaning
ふきあれる fukiareruto blow violently; to sweep over; to devastate
うちのめす uchinomesuto deal a devastating blow (from which one cannot recover); to devastate (emotionally); to crush
ぶちのめす buchinomesuto deal a devastating blow (from which one cannot recover); to devastate (emotionally); to crush

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
こうや kouyawasteland; wilderness; deserted land
あれる areruto become stormy; to become rough (of the sea)
あらき arakilogs in bark; rough wood; unseasoned timber
あれ arestormy weather; tempest; chaps (of skin)
あらい arairough; wild; violent

See also: Chinese symbol for “devastate”.

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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