Japanese symbol for “harshly”
辛く
つらく
Romaji: tsuraku
harshly; bitterly; cruelly; badly
In Japanese, harshly is 辛く, read つらく (tsuraku).
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
- adv harshly; bitterly; cruelly; badly
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “harshly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 散々 | さんざん sanzan | severely; harshly; terribly |
| さんざ | さんざ sanza | severely; harshly; utterly |
| ふん | ふん fun | roughly; harshly; violently |
| 糞味噌 | くそみそ kusomiso | severely (criticize, run down, etc.); terribly; harshly |
| 味噌糞 | みそくそ misokuso | severely (criticize, run down, etc.); terribly; harshly |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 辛い | からい karai | spicy; hot |
| 辛口 | からくち karakuchi | dry taste (e.g. sake, wine) |
| 香辛料 | こうしんりょう koushinryou | spice; spices; condiment |
| 辛抱 | しんぼう shinbou | patience; endurance; perseverance |
| 唐辛子 | とうがらし tougarashi | capsicum (Capsicum annuum, esp. the cultivated chili peppers); chili pepper (chile, chilli); cayenne |
See also: Chinese symbol for “harshly”.
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.