King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “insane”

Romaji: byouki
illness (usu. excluding minor ailments, e.g. common cold); disease; sickness

In Japanese, insane is , read (byouki).

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. n illness (usu. excluding minor ailments, e.g. common cold); disease; sickness
  2. n bad habit; bad behaviour; weakness; failing
  3. adj-no crazy; insane; disturbed; sick in the head

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

ill, sick
on: ビョウ、ヘイ
kun: や.む、-や.み、やまい
10 strokes · JLPT 3
spirit, mind, air
on: キ、ケ
kun: いき、き
6 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “insane”

WordReadingMeaning
きょうてき kyoutekiinsane; fanatic
やばい yabaicrazy; insane; not normal
あたまがおかしい atamagaokashiiinsane; crazy; nuts
きがへん kigaheninsane; mad; crazy
あたまのおかしい atamanookashiiinsane; crazy; nuts

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
びょういん byouinhospital; clinic; doctor's office
びょうじょう byoujoucondition of a patient; state of a disease; pathology
びょうにん byouninsick person; patient; invalid
びょうしつ byoushitsusickroom; hospital room; ward
かんびょう kanbyounursing (a patient)
きもち kimochifeeling; sensation; mood
にんき ninkipopularity; public favor
きぶん kibunfeeling; mood

See also: Chinese symbol for “insane”.

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.