King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “nobody”

Romaji: zako
small fish; small fry

In Japanese, nobody is , read (zako).

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

  1. n small fish; small fry
  2. n (a) nobody; small fry; unimportant person
  3. n noob; weak player
  4. n small penis; short dick

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

miscellaneous
on: ザツ、ゾウ
kun: まじ.える、まじ.る
14 strokes · JLPT 2
fish
on: ギョ
kun: うお、さかな、-ざかな
11 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “nobody”

WordReadingMeaning
むめいし mumeishianonymous person; a nobody
げいなし geinashiunaccomplished person; uninteresting person; nobody
ただのひと tadanohitoordinary person; average person; man in the street
だれひとり darehitori(not) anyone; (not) a single person; no one
ひとりも hitorimonot a single person; no one; nobody

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ざっし zasshimagazine; journal; periodical
ふくざつ fukuzatsucomplex; complicated; intricate
こんざつ konzatsucongestion; crush; crowding
ざつだん zatsudanchatting; idle talk
おおざっぱ oozapparough (estimate, summary, etc.); broad; general
ざっそう zassouweed
きんぎょ kingyogoldfish (Carassius auratus)
ぎょらい gyoraitorpedo

See also: Chinese symbol for “nobody”.

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.

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