Japanese symbol for “frail”
弱い
よわい
Romaji: yowai
weak; frail; delicate; tender
In Japanese, frail is 弱い, read よわい (yowai).
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-i weak; frail; delicate; tender; unskilled; weak (wine)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “frail”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 脆弱 | ぜいじゃく zeijaku | weak; frail; fragile |
| 脆い | もろい moroi | brittle; fragile; weak |
| 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 |
| フレイル | フレイル fureiru | (being) frail; in frail health; frailty |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 弱点 | じゃくてん jakuten | weak point; weakness; shortcoming |
| 弱み | よわみ yowami | (a) weakness; shortcoming; failing |
| 弱気 | よわき yowaki | timid; weak-kneed; fainthearted |
| 貧弱 | ひんじゃく hinjaku | poor; meagre; meager |
| 脆弱 | ぜいじゃく zeijaku | weak; frail; fragile |
See also: Chinese symbol for “frail”.
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.