Japanese symbol for “oppressive”
重苦しい
おもくるしい
Romaji: omokurushii
heavy (feeling, etc.); gloomy (weather, etc.); oppressive (atmosphere, etc.); stifling
In Japanese, oppressive is 重苦しい, read おもくるしい (omokurushii).
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 heavy (feeling, etc.); gloomy (weather, etc.); oppressive (atmosphere, etc.); stifling; strained
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “oppressive”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 切ない | せつない setsunai | oppressive; suffocating; miserable |
| 息苦しい | いきぐるしい ikigurushii | oppressive; heavy |
| ブラック | ブラック burakku | exploitative (company); overly harsh; abusive |
| 圧制的 | あっせいてき asseiteki | oppressive; despotic |
| 高圧的 | こうあつてき kouatsuteki | high-handed; oppressive |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 重要 | じゅうよう juuyou | important; essential; significant |
| 体重 | たいじゅう taijuu | (body) weight |
| 貴重 | きちょう kichou | precious; valuable |
| 重視 | じゅうし juushi | regarding as important; attaching importance to; taking a serious view of |
| 重大 | じゅうだい juudai | serious; important; significant |
| 重量 | じゅうりょう juuryou | weight |
| 苦手 | にがて nigate | poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at) |
| 苦労 | くろう kurou | trouble; hardship; difficulty |
See also: Chinese symbol for “oppressive”.
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.