Japanese symbol for “malfunction”
失調
しっちょう
Romaji: shitchou
lack of harmony; lack of balance; lack of coordination; malfunction
In Japanese, malfunction is 失調, read しっちょう (shitchou).
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 lack of harmony; lack of balance; lack of coordination; malfunction
- n ataxia (med)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “malfunction”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不具合 | ふぐあい fuguai | flaw; defect; problem |
| 誤動作 | ごどうさ godousa | malfunction |
| 狂う | くるう kuruu | to get out of order; to go amiss; to malfunction |
| トラブル | トラブル toraburu | failure (of an engine, machine, computer, etc.); breakdown; malfunction |
| 誤作動 | ごさどう gosadou | malfunction; failure |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 失敗 | しっぱい shippai | failure; mistake; blunder |
| 損失 | そんしつ sonshitsu | loss (of assets, profit, etc.) |
| 失う | うしなう ushinau | to lose |
| 失業 | しつぎょう shitsugyou | unemployment |
| 失礼 | しつれい shitsurei | discourtesy; impoliteness |
| 喪失 | そうしつ soushitsu | loss; forfeit |
| 調査 | ちょうさ chousa | investigation; examination; inquiry |
| 調べ | しらべ shirabe | investigation; inspection; examination |
See also: Chinese symbol for “malfunction”.
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.