Japanese symbol for “pretended”

似非

えせ

Romaji: ese

false; pseudo-; quasi-; would-be

In Japanese, pretended is 似非, read えせ (ese).

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

pref false; pseudo-; quasi-; would-be; sham; pretended

Written forms: 似非、似而非. Readings: えせ、エセ.

Kanji and stroke order

似

becoming, resemble, counterfeit

on: ジ
kun: に.る、ひ.る

7 strokes · JLPT 2

非

un-, mistake, negative

on: ヒ
kun: あら.ず

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
類似	るいじ ruiji	resemblance; similarity; likeness
似合う	にあう niau	to suit; to match; to become
真似	まね mane	imitating; copying; mimicry
似合い	にあい niai	well-matched (esp. of a couple); becoming; suitable
似る	にる niru	to resemble; to look like; to be like
疑似	ぎじ giji	pseudo; quasi; false
非常	ひじょう hijou	emergency
是非	ぜひ zehi	certainly; without fail

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.