Japanese symbol for “inferiority”
劣勢
れっせい
Romaji: ressei
inferiority (e.g. numerical); inferior position; disadvantage; unfavorable situation
In Japanese, inferiority is 劣勢, read れっせい (ressei).
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 inferiority (e.g. numerical); inferior position; disadvantage; unfavorable situation; unfavourable situation
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “inferiority”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 下 | げ ge | lowness (of degree, value, etc.); inferiority |
| 下 | した shita | inferiority; one's inferior (i.e. one's junior) |
| 劣等 | れっとう rettou | inferiority; low grade |
| 遜色 | そんしょく sonshoku | inferiority |
| 劣性 | れっせい ressei | inferiority; recessiveness |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 劣化 | れっか rekka | deterioration (in quality, performance, etc.); degradation; worsening |
| 劣る | おとる otoru | to be inferior to; to be less good at; to fall behind |
| 卑劣 | ひれつ hiretsu | mean; contemptible; despicable |
| 優劣 | ゆうれつ yuuretsu | (relative) merits; superiority or inferiority; quality |
| 劣悪 | れつあく retsuaku | poor (quality, conditions, etc.); bad; inferior |
| 姿勢 | しせい shisei | posture; pose; position |
| 勢力 | せいりょく seiryoku | influence; power; might |
| 勢い | いきおい ikioi | force; vigor; vigour |
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.