Japanese symbol for “phobia”

恐怖症

きょうふしょう

Romaji: kyoufushou

phobia; morbid fear

In Japanese, phobia is 恐怖症, read きょうふしょう (kyoufushou).

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, n-suf phobia; morbid fear

Kanji and stroke order

恐

fear, dread, awe

on: キョウ
kun: おそ.れる、おそ.る、おそ.ろしい、こわ.い

10 strokes · JLPT 2

怖

dreadful, be frightened, fearful

on: フ、ホ
kun: こわ.い、こわ.がる、お.じる、おそ.れる

8 strokes · JLPT 2

症

symptoms, illness

on: ショウ

10 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
恐れ	おそれ osore	fear; horror; anxiety
恐怖	きょうふ kyoufu	fear; dread; dismay
恐ろしい	おそろしい osoroshii	terrible; dreadful; terrifying
恐らく	おそらく osoraku	probably; (most) likely; in all likelihood
恐れる	おそれる osoreru	to fear; to be afraid of
恐竜	きょうりゅう kyouryuu	dinosaur
怖い	こわい kowai	scary; frightening; eerie
怖がる	こわがる kowagaru	to be afraid (of); to fear; to be frightened (of)
症状	しょうじょう shoujou	symptoms; condition (of a patient)

See also: Chinese symbol for “phobia”.

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.