King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “dismal”

Romaji: inki
gloomy; dismal; miserable; melancholy

In Japanese, dismal is , read (inki).

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 gloomy; dismal; miserable; melancholy
  2. n spirit of yin

Kanji and stroke order

shade, yin, negative
on: イン
kun: かげ、かげ.る
11 strokes · JLPT 1
spirit, mind, air
on: キ、ケ
kun: いき、き
6 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “dismal”

WordReadingMeaning
ふけいき fukeikigloomy; cheerless; dismal
いんうつ in'utsugloomy; melancholy; dreary
いんきくさい inkikusaidismal; gloomy
しょうしょう shoushoudreary; dismal; lonely

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
いんぼう inbouplot; intrigue; scheme
ひかげ hikageshade; shadow
いんよう in'youcosmic dual forces; yin and yang; sun and moon
いんせい inseinegative (result)
こかげ kokageshade of a tree; bower
やまかげ yamakageplace in the shade of a mountain; shelter of the mountains
きもち kimochifeeling; sensation; mood
にんき ninkipopularity; public favor

See also: Chinese symbol for “dismal”.

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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