Japanese symbol for “flatten”
潰す
つぶす
Romaji: tsubusu
to smash; to crush; to flatten
In Japanese, flatten is 潰す, read つぶす (tsubusu).
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
- v5s, vt to smash; to crush; to flatten
- v5s, vt to shut down; to put out of business; to force (a company) to close up shop
- v5s, vt to wreck; to break; to block; to thwart
- v5s, vt to butcher; to slaughter; to kill (livestock, for food)
- v5s, vt to kill (time); to while away (the time); to use up (one's time)
- v5s, vt to waste (e.g. talents)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “flatten”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 押しつぶす | おしつぶす oshitsubusu | to crush; to squash; to flatten |
| 均す | ならす narasu | to make even; to make smooth; to make level |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 潰瘍 | かいよう kaiyou | ulcer |
| 潰れる | つぶれる tsubureru | to be crushed; to be squashed; to be smashed |
| 潰れ | つぶれ tsubure | collapse; ruin; destruction |
| 胃潰瘍 | いかいよう ikaiyou | stomach ulcer; gastric ulcer |
| 目潰し | めつぶし metsubushi | sand, ash, etc., thrown in the eyes to blind someone; throwing something at someone's eyes to blind them |
See also: Chinese symbol for “flatten”.
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.