Japanese symbol for “mortifying”
泣くに泣けない
なくになけない
Romaji: nakuninakenai
extremely disappointing; extremely frustrating; mortifying; vexing
In Japanese, mortifying is 泣くに泣けない, read なくになけない (nakuninakenai).
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, exp extremely disappointing; extremely frustrating; mortifying; vexing
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 泣き | なき naki | weeping; lamenting |
| 号泣 | ごうきゅう goukyuu | crying loudly; bawling; wailing |
| 泣き声 | なきごえ nakigoe | cry (e.g. of a baby); sob; whine |
| 泣く | なく naku | to cry; to shed tears; to weep |
| 泣かせる | なかせる nakaseru | to make someone cry; to move someone to tears |
| 悔し泣き | くやしなき kuyashinaki | crying from vexation; tears of regret |
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.