Japanese symbol for “placebo”
偽薬
ぎやく
Romaji: giyaku
placebo
In Japanese, placebo is 偽薬, read ぎやく (giyaku).
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 placebo (med)
Written forms: 偽薬、擬薬. Readings: ぎやく.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “placebo”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| プラセボ | プラセボ purasebo | placebo |
| 気休め薬 | きやすめぐすり kiyasumegusuri | placebo |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 偽造 | ぎぞう gizou | forgery; counterfeiting; fabrication |
| 偽装 | ぎそう gisou | camouflage; disguise |
| 偽物 | にせもの nisemono | spurious article; forgery; counterfeit |
| 真偽 | しんぎ shingi | truth or falsehood; genuineness; authenticity |
| 虚偽 | きょぎ kyogi | falsehood; untruth; lie |
| 偽り | いつわり itsuwari | lie; falsehood; fiction |
| 麻薬 | まやく mayaku | narcotic; drug; dope |
| 医薬品 | いやくひん iyakuhin | medical and pharmaceutical products; medicinal supplies; drugs |
See also: Chinese symbol for “placebo”.
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.