Japanese symbol for “dread”

恐怖

きょうふ

Romaji: kyoufu

fear; dread; dismay; terror

In Japanese, dread is 恐怖, read きょうふ (kyoufu).

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 fear; dread; dismay; terror; horror; scare

Written forms: 恐怖. Readings: きょうふ、くふ.

Kanji and stroke order

恐

fear, dread, awe

on: キョウ
kun: おそ.れる、おそ.る、おそ.ろしい、こわ.い

10 strokes · JLPT 2

怖

dreadful, be frightened, fearful

on: フ、ホ
kun: こわ.い、こわ.がる、お.じる、おそ.れる

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “dread”

Word	Reading	Meaning
畏怖	いふ ifu	awe; fear; dread
怯え	おびえ obie	fear; dread; fright
怖気	おぞけ ozoke	fear; dread; fright
恐惶	きょうこう kyoukou	fear; dread; consternation
憂懼	ゆうく yuuku	fear; apprehension; dread

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
恐れ	おそれ osore	fear; horror; anxiety
恐ろしい	おそろしい osoroshii	terrible; dreadful; terrifying
恐らく	おそらく osoraku	probably; (most) likely; in all likelihood
恐れる	おそれる osoreru	to fear; to be afraid of
恐竜	きょうりゅう kyouryuu	dinosaur
怖い	こわい kowai	scary; frightening; eerie
恐怖症	きょうふしょう kyoufushou	phobia; morbid fear
怖がる	こわがる kowagaru	to be afraid (of); to fear; to be frightened (of)

See also: Chinese symbol for “dread”.

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.