King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “impossible”

Romaji: fukanou
impossible

In Japanese, impossible is , read (fukanou).

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

  1. adj-na, n impossible

Kanji and stroke order

negative, non-, bad
on: フ、ブ
4 strokes · JLPT 3
can, passable, approval
on: カ、コク
kun: -べ.き、-べ.し
5 strokes · JLPT 2
ability, talent, skill
on: ノウ
kun: よ.く、あた.う
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “impossible”

WordReadingMeaning
ふのう funouimpossible; incapable (of doing); unable (to do)
むり muriimpossible
むずかしい muzukashiiimpossible; unfeasible
ろんがい rongaiout of the question; outrageous; impossible
ない nainot; impossible; won't happen

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ふめい fumeiunclear; obscure; indistinct
ふあん fuananxiety; uneasiness; worry
ふそく fusokuinsufficiency; deficiency; shortage
ふまん fumandissatisfaction; discontent; displeasure
ふしぎ fushigiwonderful; marvelous; strange
かのう kanoupossible; potential; practicable
きょか kyokapermission; approval; authorization
かわいそう kawaisoupoor; pitiable; pathetic
きのう kinoufunction; facility; faculty

See also: Chinese symbol for “impossible”.

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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