Japanese symbol for “malady”
弊害
へいがい
Romaji: heigai
harmful effect; harmful influence; evil practice; abuse
In Japanese, malady is 弊害, read へいがい (heigai).
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 harmful effect; harmful influence; evil practice; abuse; malady
Written forms: 弊害、幣害. Readings: へいがい.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 疲弊 | ひへい hihei | exhaustion; fatigue |
| 弊社 | へいしゃ heisha | our company; our firm |
| 悪弊 | あくへい akuhei | corrupt practice; evil practice; bad custom |
| 語弊 | ごへい gohei | faulty statement; misleading statement; misunderstanding caused by a misleading statement |
| 弊誌 | へいし heishi | (our) magazine; periodical; journal |
| 被害 | ひがい higai | (suffering) damage; injury; harm |
| 障害 | しょうがい shougai | obstacle; impediment; hindrance |
| 災害 | さいがい saigai | calamity; disaster; misfortune |
See also: Chinese symbol for “malady”.
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.