Japanese symbol for “lie”
嘘
うそ
Romaji: uso
lie; fib; falsehood; untruth
In Japanese, lie is 嘘, read うそ (uso).
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 lie; fib; falsehood; untruth
- adj-no, n mistake; error
- n unwise move; bad decision
- int no way!; unbelievable!; really?!
Written forms: 嘘、噓. Readings: うそ、ウソ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “lie”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 偽り | いつわり itsuwari | lie; falsehood; fiction |
| 偽る | いつわる itsuwaru | to lie; to pretend; to feign |
| 虚偽 | きょぎ kyogi | falsehood; untruth; lie |
| 当たる | あたる ataru | to lie (in the direction of) |
| ライ | ライ rai | lie |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 嘘つき | うそつき usotsuki | liar; fibber |
| 嘘っぱち | うそっぱち usoppachi | total lie; downright lie |
| 嘘八百 | うそはっぴゃく usohappyaku | pack of lies; complete fabrication; all lies |
| 嘘っ八百 | うそっぱっぴゃく usoppappyaku | full of lies |
| 嘘をつく | うそをつく usootsuku | to tell a lie; to fib |
| 嘘字 | うそじ usoji | incorrectly written character; kanji written with the wrong strokes; wrongly used kanji |
See also: Chinese symbol for “lie”.
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.