Japanese symbol for “melancholic”
憂い
うい
Romaji: ui
unhappy; sad; miserable; wretched
In Japanese, melancholic is 憂い, read うい (ui).
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-i unhappy; sad; miserable; wretched; gloomy; melancholic
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “melancholic”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| メランコリック | メランコリック merankorikku | melancholic |
| 憂き | うき uki | unhappy; sad; miserable |
| 哀愁漂う | あいしゅうただよう aishuutadayou | sorrowful (e.g. person, scene, etc.); melancholic |
| エモい | エモい emoi | emo; sad; melancholic |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一喜一憂 | いっきいちゆう ikkiichiyuu | alternating between happiness and anxiety; swinging between joy and sorrow; being glad and sad by turns |
| 憂慮 | ゆうりょ yuuryo | anxiety; concern; fear |
| 憂き目 | うきめ ukime | bitter experience; misery; distress |
| 憂国 | ゆうこく yuukoku | patriotic concern for the future of one's country |
| 憂鬱 | ゆううつ yuuutsu | depression; melancholy; dejection |
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.