Japanese symbol for “feeble”

貧弱

ひんじゃく

Romaji: hinjaku

poor; meagre; meager; feeble

In Japanese, feeble is 貧弱, read ひんじゃく (hinjaku).

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, n poor; meagre; meager; feeble; scanty; shabby

Kanji and stroke order

貧

poverty, poor

on: ヒン、ビン
kun: まず.しい

11 strokes · JLPT 2

弱

weak, frail

on: ジャク
kun: よわ.い、よわ.る、よわ.まる、よわ.める

10 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “feeble”

Word	Reading	Meaning
微弱	びじゃく bijaku	feeble; faint; weak
病弱	びょうじゃく byoujaku	weak (constitution); sickly; feeble
弱々しい	よわよわしい yowayowashii	weak; weakly; feeble
か弱い	かよわい kayowai	weak; feeble; delicate
絶え絶え	たえだえ taedae	feeble; faint

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
貧困	ひんこん hinkon	poverty; penury; need
貧しい	まずしい mazushii	poor; needy
貧乏	びんぼう binbou	poverty-stricken; destitute; poor
貧血	ひんけつ hinketsu	anemia; anaemia
貧富	ひんぷ hinpu	wealth and poverty; rich and poor
弱い	よわい yowai	weak; frail; delicate
弱点	じゃくてん jakuten	weak point; weakness; shortcoming
弱み	よわみ yowami	(a) weakness; shortcoming; failing

See also: Chinese symbol for “feeble”.

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.