Japanese symbol for “ogre”
鬼
おに
Romaji: oni
ogre; demon; oni
In Japanese, ogre is 鬼, read おに (oni).
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 ogre; demon; oni
- n spirit of a deceased person
- n ogre-like person (i.e. fierce, relentless, merciless, etc.)
- n it (in a game of tag, hide-and-seek, etc.); seeker; chaser; tagger; tigger
- n Chinese "ghost" constellation (one of the 28 mansions) (astron)
- pref very; extremely; super-
Written forms: 鬼. Readings: おに、き.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ogre”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| オーガ | オーガ ooga | ogre |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 吸血鬼 | きゅうけつき kyuuketsuki | vampire; bloodsucker |
| 鬼才 | きさい kisai | wizard; genius; remarkable talent |
| 疑心暗鬼 | ぎしんあんき gishin'anki | suspicion will raise bogies; once you suspect something, everything else will look suspicious; jumping at shadows |
| 鬼門 | きもん kimon | the northeastern (unlucky) direction; person or thing to be avoided; the demon's gate |
| 鬼ごっこ | おにごっこ onigokko | tag (children's game); tig |
| 鬼畜 | きちく kichiku | brute; savage; fiend |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ogre”.
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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