Japanese symbol for “fearsome”
恐ろしげ
おそろしげ
Romaji: osoroshige
frightening; fearsome; awful
In Japanese, fearsome is 恐ろしげ, read おそろしげ (osoroshige).
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
- adj-na frightening; fearsome; awful
Written forms: 恐ろしげ、恐ろし気、恐げ. Readings: おそろしげ.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 恐れ | おそれ osore | fear; horror; anxiety |
| 恐怖 | きょうふ kyoufu | fear; dread; dismay |
| 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 |
See also: Chinese symbol for “fearsome”.
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.