King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “embarrassment”

Romaji: haji
shame; embarrassment; disgrace

In Japanese, embarrassment is , read (haji).

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. n shame; embarrassment; disgrace

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

shame, dishonor
on: チ
kun: は.じる、はじ、は.じらう、は.ずかしい
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “embarrassment”

WordReadingMeaning
こんわく konwakubewilderment; perplexity; embarrassment
とうわく touwakubewilderment; perplexity; embarrassment
せきめん sekimenembarrassment
はにかみ hanikamibashfulness; shyness; (showing signs of) embarrassment
ちぶ chibudisgraceful thing; shame; embarrassment

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
はじる hajiruto feel ashamed
ちじょく chijokudisgrace; shame; insult
はじらう hajirauto feel shy; to be bashful; to blush
しゅうち shuuchishyness; bashfulness; shame
はじしらず hajishirazushameless; shameless person
はじらい hajiraishyness; bashfulness

See also: Chinese symbol for “embarrassment”.

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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