Japanese symbol for “folly”
愚
ぐ
Romaji: gu
foolishness; silliness; stupidity; folly
In Japanese, folly is 愚, read ぐ (gu).
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 foolishness; silliness; stupidity; folly
- pn I; me
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “folly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 愚行 | ぐこう gukou | foolish act; folly |
| 虚仮 | こけ koke | folly; fool |
| フォリー | フォリー forii | folly |
| 痴れ事 | しれごと shiregoto | foolish act; folly; nonsense |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 愚か | おろか oroka | foolish; stupid; silly |
| 愚痴 | ぐち guchi | idle complaint; grumble |
| 愚行 | ぐこう gukou | foolish act; folly |
| 愚連隊 | ぐれんたい gurentai | gang of young toughs; hooligans; hoodlums |
| 愚直 | ぐちょく guchoku | simple honesty; tactless frankness |
| 愚弄 | ぐろう gurou | mockery; derision; ridicule |
See also: Chinese symbol for “folly”.
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.