Japanese symbol for “irony”
皮肉
ひにく
Romaji: hiniku
irony; sarcasm; cynicism; satire
In Japanese, irony is 皮肉, read ひにく (hiniku).
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 irony; sarcasm; cynicism; satire
- adj-na, adj-no, n unexpected; different from what one expected; not as one had planned
- n (only) surface; something superficial
- n skin and bone; body
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “irony”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 風刺 | ふうし fuushi | satire; irony; sarcasm |
| 反語 | はんご hango | irony |
| アイロニー | アイロニー aironii | irony |
| イロニー | イロニー ironii | irony |
| 運命の悪戯 | うんめいのいたずら unmeinoitazura | quirk of fate; twist of fate; (an) irony |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 皮膚 | ひふ hifu | skin |
| 毛皮 | けがわ kegawa | fur; skin; pelt |
| 皮切り | かわきり kawakiri | beginning; start |
| 脱皮 | だっぴ dappi | ecdysis; shedding (of skin); sloughing |
| 樹皮 | じゅひ juhi | bark (of a tree, etc.) |
| 筋肉 | きんにく kinniku | muscle |
| 肉体 | にくたい nikutai | the body; the flesh; the outer man |
| 牛肉 | ぎゅうにく gyuuniku | beef |
See also: Chinese symbol for “irony”.
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.