Japanese symbol for “plague”
疫病
えきびょう
Romaji: ekibyou
epidemic; plague; pestilence
In Japanese, plague is 疫病, read えきびょう (ekibyou).
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 epidemic; plague; pestilence
Written forms: 疫病. Readings: えきびょう、やくびょう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “plague”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ペスト | ペスト pesuto | plague; black plague |
| 黒死病 | こくしびょう kokushibyou | plague; Black Death |
| 異常発生 | いじょうはっせい ijouhassei | plague |
| 鼠疫 | そえき soeki | plague; pest |
| 疫病神 | やくびょうがみ yakubyougami | jinx; hoodoo; pest |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 免疫 | めんえき men'eki | immunity; immunization; immunisation |
| 検疫 | けんえき ken'eki | quarantine; medical inspection |
| 防疫 | ぼうえき boueki | communicable disease control (e.g. by quarantine, disinfection, etc.); prevention of epidemics |
| 疫病神 | やくびょうがみ yakubyougami | god of pestilence; god who spreads infectious diseases |
| 疫学 | えきがく ekigaku | epidemiology |
| 病院 | びょういん byouin | hospital; clinic; doctor's office |
| 病気 | びょうき byouki | illness (usu. excluding minor ailments, e.g. common cold); disease; sickness |
| 病状 | びょうじょう byoujou | condition of a patient; state of a disease; pathology |
See also: Chinese symbol for “plague”.
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.