Japanese symbol for “overflowing”
氾濫
はんらん
Romaji: hanran
overflowing; flood; inundation; deluge
In Japanese, overflowing is 氾濫, read はんらん (hanran).
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, vi, vs overflowing; flood; inundation; deluge
- n, vi, vs oversupply; plethora; abundance (esp. of something undesirable)
Written forms: 氾濫、はん濫、汎濫. Readings: はんらん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “overflowing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 越水 | えっすい essui | overflowing (of a river); inundation |
| 横溢 | おういつ ouitsu | overflowing; inundation |
| パンク | パンク panku | bursting; overflowing; being jammed (e.g. phone lines) |
| 津々 | しんしん shinshin | gushing; overflowing; everlasting |
| 溢れんばかり | あふれんばかり afurenbakari | overflowing; effusive; exuberant |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 氾濫原 | はんらんげん hanrangen | flood plain |
| 内水氾濫 | ないすいはんらん naisuihanran | flooding within the confines of a levee (i.e. caused by surface runoff, drainage failure, etc.) |
| 河川氾濫 | かせんはんらん kasenhanran | flooding caused by overflowing of rivers (e.g. breaching levee banks) |
| 外水氾濫 | がいすいはんらん gaisuihanran | flooding caused by overflowing of rivers (e.g. breaching levee banks) |
| 濫造 | らんぞう ranzou | overproduction; careless manufacture; churning out (substandard goods) |
| 濫觴 | らんしょう ranshou | source; beginning; origin |
| 粗製濫造 | そせいらんぞう soseiranzou | mass production of inferior goods |
| 権利濫用 | けんりらんよう kenriran'you | abuse of rights; improper use of a privilege |
See also: Chinese symbol for “overflowing”.
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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