Japanese symbol for “louse”
虱
しらみ
Romaji: shirami
louse (esp. a sucking louse); lice
In Japanese, louse is 虱, read しらみ (shirami).
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 louse (esp. a sucking louse); lice
Written forms: 虱、蝨. Readings: しらみ、しし、シラミ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “louse”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ちいちい | ちいちい chiichii | bug; louse; flea |
| 蚰蜒 | げじげじ gejigeji | contemptible person; skunk; wretch |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 虱潰し | しらみつぶし shiramitsubushi | very thorough search (for contraband, escaped convict, etc.); fine-tooth-comb search; exhaustive search |
| 人虱 | ひとじらみ hitojirami | Pediculus humanus (species of louse that infests humans); body louse; body lice |
| 頭虱 | あたまじらみ atamajirami | head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis); head lice |
| 虱潰しに | しらみつぶしに shiramitsubushini | one by one; thoroughly; exhaustively |
| 羽虱 | はじらみ hajirami | biting louse (any louse of order Mallophaga); chewing louse |
| 虱目魚 | さばひい sabahii | milkfish (Chanos chanos) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “louse”.
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.