Japanese symbol for “dismemberment”

解体

かいたい

Romaji: kaitai

demolition; taking down; dismantling; disassembly

In Japanese, dismemberment is 解体, read かいたい (kaitai).

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

n, vi, vs demolition; taking down; dismantling; disassembly; taking apart
n, vi, vs dissolution (of an organization, company, etc.); breaking up
n, vs, vt dissection (of a body); dismemberment

Kanji and stroke order

解

unravel, notes, key

on: カイ、ゲ
kun: と.く、と.かす、と.ける、ほど.く

13 strokes · JLPT 2

体

body, substance, object

on: タイ、テイ
kun: からだ、かたち

7 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
理解	りかい rikai	understanding; comprehension; appreciation
解決	かいけつ kaiketsu	settlement; solution; resolution
解説	かいせつ kaisetsu	explanation; commentary; exposition
解散	かいさん kaisan	breaking up (a meeting, gathering, etc.); dispersal (e.g. of a crowd)
解放	かいほう kaihou	release; unleashing; liberation
解除	かいじょ kaijo	termination (of a contract); cancellation; rescinding
全体	ぜんたい zentai	whole; entirety
団体	だんたい dantai	group; party; team

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.