Japanese symbol for “flee”

In Japanese, flee is 逃げる, read にげる (nigeru).

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. v1, vi to run away; to flee; to get away (e.g. from danger); to escape; to break out; to leave (e.g. one's spouse)
2. v1, vi to avoid (a question, responsibility, etc.); to evade; to dodge; to shirk; to back away
3. v1, vi to win without being overtaken; to hold off the other contenders (until the finish); to keep the lead (and win)
4. v1, vi to escape (of heat, a gas, etc.); to leak out (e.g. of a scent); to be lost (e.g. of flavor)
5. v1, vi to fail to hold an ideal posture

Written forms: 逃げる、遁げる、迯げる. Readings: にげる.

Kanji and stroke order

↻ Replay stroke order

Other Japanese words for “flee”

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

See also: Chinese symbol for “flee”.

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.