Japanese symbol for “misfortune”
災害
さいがい
Romaji: saigai
calamity; disaster; misfortune
In Japanese, misfortune is 災害, read さいがい (saigai).
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 calamity; disaster; misfortune
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “misfortune”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不運 | ふうん fuun | misfortune; bad luck; ill luck |
| 不幸 | ふこう fukou | unhappiness; sorrow; misfortune |
| 厄 | やく yaku | misfortune; bad luck; evil |
| 災い | わざわい wazawai | disaster; calamity; misfortune |
| 不遇 | ふぐう fuguu | misfortune; ill fate; bad luck |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 火災 | かさい kasai | conflagration; fire |
| 防災 | ぼうさい bousai | disaster preparedness; prevention of damage resulting from a natural disaster; protection against disaster |
| 震災 | しんさい shinsai | earthquake disaster |
| 被災 | ひさい hisai | suffering (from a disaster); being hit (by an earthquake, typhoon, etc.); falling victim (to) |
| 災い | わざわい wazawai | disaster; calamity; misfortune |
| 被害 | ひがい higai | (suffering) damage; injury; harm |
| 障害 | しょうがい shougai | obstacle; impediment; hindrance |
| 損害 | そんがい songai | damage; injury; loss |
See also: Chinese symbol for “misfortune”.
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.