Japanese symbol for “illegal”
違法
いほう
Romaji: ihou
illegal; illicit; unlawful
In Japanese, illegal is 違法, read いほう (ihou).
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, adj-no, n illegal; illicit; unlawful
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “illegal”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不法 | ふほう fuhou | unlawful; illegal |
| 非合法 | ひごうほう higouhou | illegal; unlawful |
| 地下 | ちか chika | underground (activities, movement, etc.); secret; illegal |
| 裏口 | うらぐち uraguchi | unauthorized; illicit; illegal |
| イリーガル | イリーガル iriigaru | illegal |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 違い | ちがい chigai | difference; distinction; discrepancy |
| 間違い | まちがい machigai | mistake; error; blunder |
| 違反 | いはん ihan | violation; offense; offence |
| 違う | ちがう chigau | to differ (from); to be different; to be distinct |
| 勘違い | かんちがい kanchigai | misunderstanding; mistaken idea; wrong guess |
| 方法 | ほうほう houhou | method; way; manner |
| 法律 | ほうりつ houritsu | law; legislation; act |
| 法人 | ほうじん houjin | corporation; corporate body; company |
See also: Chinese symbol for “illegal”.
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.
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