Japanese symbol for “illiteracy”
盲
めくら
Romaji: mekura
blindness; blind person
In Japanese, illiteracy is 盲, read めくら (mekura).
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-no, n blindness; blind person
- n illiteracy; illiterate person
- n ignorance; ignorant person
Written forms: 盲、瞽. Readings: めくら、メクラ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “illiteracy”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 文盲 | もんもう monmou | illiteracy |
| 無筆 | むひつ muhitsu | illiteracy |
| 非識字 | ひしきじ hishikiji | illiteracy |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 盲点 | もうてん mouten | blind spot (on the retina) |
| 盲目 | もうもく moumoku | blindness |
| 盲腸 | もうちょう mouchou | cecum; caecum; blind gut |
| 盲導犬 | もうどうけん moudouken | guide dog; seeing-eye dog |
| 盲人 | もうじん moujin | blind person |
| 全盲 | ぜんもう zenmou | total blindness |
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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