Japanese symbol for “harm”
被害
ひがい
Romaji: higai
(suffering) damage; injury; harm
In Japanese, harm is 被害, read ひがい (higai).
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
- n (suffering) damage; injury; harm
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “harm”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 損 | そん son | loss; damage; harm |
| 損なう | そこなう sokonau | to harm; to hurt; to injure |
| 害 | がい gai | injury; harm; evil influence |
| 毒 | どく doku | harm; evil influence |
| 損ねる | そこねる sokoneru | to harm; to hurt; to injure |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 被告 | ひこく hikoku | defendant; the accused |
| 被災 | ひさい hisai | suffering (from a disaster); being hit (by an earthquake, typhoon, etc.); falling victim (to) |
| 被爆 | ひばく hibaku | being bombed |
| 被写体 | ひしゃたい hishatai | (photographic) subject |
| 被る | かぶる kaburu | to put on (one's head); to wear; to have on |
| 障害 | しょうがい shougai | obstacle; impediment; hindrance |
| 災害 | さいがい saigai | calamity; disaster; misfortune |
| 損害 | そんがい songai | damage; injury; loss |
See also: Chinese symbol for “harm”.
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.