Japanese symbol for “losers”

負け組

まけぐみ

Romaji: makegumi

losers (of society)

In Japanese, losers is 負け組, read まけぐみ (makegumi).

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

n losers (of society)

Written forms: 負け組、負け組み、負組. Readings: まけぐみ.

Kanji and stroke order

負

defeat, negative, -

on: フ
kun: ま.ける、ま.かす、お.う

9 strokes · JLPT 2

組

association, braid, plait

on: ソ
kun: く.む、くみ、-ぐみ

11 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
負け	まけ make	defeat; loss; losing (a game)
負担	ふたん futan	burden; load; responsibility
勝負	しょうぶ shoubu	victory or defeat
負傷	ふしょう fushou	injury; wound
負債	ふさい fusai	debt; liabilities
負う	おう ou	to carry on one's back; to bear; to shoulder
番組	ばんぐみ bangumi	program (e.g. TV); programme
組織	そしき soshiki	organization; organisation; formation

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.