Japanese symbol for “diminish”
減る
へる
Romaji: heru
to decrease (in size or number); to diminish; to abate
In Japanese, diminish is 減る, read へる (heru).
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
- v5r, vi to decrease (in size or number); to diminish; to abate
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “diminish”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 減らす | へらす herasu | to abate; to decrease; to diminish |
| 縮む | ちぢむ chijimu | to shrink; to contract; to diminish (in size) |
| 損じる | そんじる sonjiru | to decrease; to diminish (profits, gains) |
| 少なくなる | すくなくなる sukunakunaru | to lessen; to decrease; to diminish |
| 縮み込む | ちぢみこむ chijimikomu | to shrink; to contract; to diminish (in size) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 減少 | げんしょう genshou | decrease; reduction; decline |
| 削減 | さくげん sakugen | cut; reduction; curtailment |
| 加減 | かげん kagen | degree; extent; amount |
| 減速 | げんそく gensoku | deceleration |
| 減らす | へらす herasu | to abate; to decrease; to diminish |
See also: Chinese symbol for “diminish”.
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.