King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “disappointing”

Romaji: zannen
regrettable; unfortunate; disappointing; vexing

In Japanese, disappointing is , read (zannen).

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. adj-na, n regrettable; unfortunate; disappointing; vexing

Kanji and stroke order

remainder, leftover, balance
on: ザン、サン
kun: のこ.る、のこ.す、そこな.う、のこ.り
10 strokes · JLPT 2
wish, sense, idea
on: ネン
8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “disappointing”

WordReadingMeaning
おしい oshiiregrettable; disappointing; unfortunate
ばか bakatrivial; insignificant; disappointing
おもわしくない omowashikunaidisappointing; unsatisfactory; unsuitable
ふほんい fuhon'ireluctant; unwilling; involuntary
ふがいない fugainaigood-for-nothing; spineless; gutless

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
のこり nokoriremainder; remnant; the rest
のこす nokosuto leave (behind)
ざんぎょう zangyouovertime (work)
のこる nokoruto remain; to be left
ざんこく zankokucruel; brutal; ruthless
きねん kinencommemoration; celebration; remembrance
がいねん gainengeneral idea; concept; notion
けねん kenenworry; fear; anxiety

See also: Chinese symbol for “disappointing”.

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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