Japanese symbol for “overreaction”

過剰反応

かじょうはんのう

Romaji: kajouhannou

overreaction

In Japanese, overreaction is 過剰反応, read かじょうはんのう (kajouhannou).

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, vs overreaction

Kanji and stroke order

過

overdo, exceed, go beyond

on: カ
kun: す.ぎる、す.ごす、あやま.ち、あやま.つ

12 strokes · JLPT 2

剰

surplus, besides

on: ジョウ
kun: あまつさえ、あま.り、あま.る

11 strokes · JLPT 1

反

anti-

on: ハン、ホン、タン、ホ
kun: そ.る、そ.らす、かえ.す、かえ.る

4 strokes · JLPT 2

応

apply, answer, yes

on: オウ、ヨウ、-ノウ
kun: あた.る、まさに、こた.える

7 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “overreaction”

Word	Reading	Meaning
オーバーリアクション	オーバーリアクション oobaariakushon	overreaction

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
過去	かこ kako	the past; bygone days
過ぎ	すぎ sugi	past; after
過程	かてい katei	process; course; mechanism
経過	けいか keika	passage (of time); elapsing; lapse
通過	つうか tsuuka	passing through (a tunnel, station, town, etc.); passing by (e.g. of a typhoon); transit
過剰	かじょう kajou	excess; surplus; superabundance
余剰	よじょう yojou	surplus; remainder; residue
剰余	じょうよ jouyo	surplus; balance; remainder
反対	はんたい hantai	opposition; resistance; antagonism
対応	たいおう taiou	correspondence (to); equivalence

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.