Japanese symbol for “exorcise”
祓う
はらう
Romaji: harau
to exorcise; to cleanse; to purify
In Japanese, exorcise is 祓う, read はらう (harau).
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
- v5u, vt to exorcise; to cleanse; to purify
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “exorcise”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 清める | きよめる kiyomeru | to purify; to cleanse; to exorcise |
| 厄を落とす | やくをおとす yakuootosu | to exorcise; to escape evil |
| 払い清める | はらいきよめる haraikiyomeru | to purify; to exorcise |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 祓い | はらい harai | purification; exorcism |
| お祓い | おはらい oharai | exorcism rite; purification |
| 祓魔 | ふつま futsuma | exorcism |
| 大祓 | おおはらえ ooharae | great purification; purification rite performed twice a year, before daijōsai and after major disasters |
| 祓戸 | はらえど haraedo | site of purification rituals; place of harae |
See also: Chinese symbol for “exorcise”.
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.