Japanese symbol for “distort”
曲げる
まげる
Romaji: mageru
to bend; to crook; to bow; to curve
In Japanese, distort is 曲げる, read まげる (mageru).
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
- v1, vt to bend; to crook; to bow; to curve; to curl
- v1, vt to lean; to tilt; to incline; to slant
- v1, vt to bend (the truth); to distort; to twist; to pervert
- v1, vt to yield (a point); to depart (from a principle); to ignore (what one really thinks)
- v1, vt to pawn
Written forms: 曲げる、枉げる. Readings: まげる.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “distort”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 歪める | ゆがめる yugameru | to bend; to curve; to warp |
| こじ付ける | こじつける kojitsukeru | to distort; to strain (an interpretation); to stretch (the meaning of a word) |
| ねじ曲げる | ねじまげる nejimageru | to distort (e.g. the truth); to twist (e.g. someone's words) |
| 誤り伝える | あやまりつたえる ayamaritsutaeru | to misrepresent; to distort; to belie |
| ひん曲げる | ひんまげる hinmageru | to distort (the truth) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 作曲 | さっきょく sakkyoku | composition (of music); setting; writing music |
| 曲線 | きょくせん kyokusen | curve |
| 楽曲 | がっきょく gakkyoku | musical composition; tune |
| 戯曲 | ぎきょく gikyoku | drama; play |
| 新曲 | しんきょく shinkyoku | new (musical) composition; new piece; new song |
| 交響曲 | こうきょうきょく koukyoukyoku | symphony |
See also: Chinese symbol for “distort”.
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.