Japanese symbol for “priestly”

坊主くさい

ぼうずくさい

Romaji: bouzukusai

overly pious; sanctimonious; priestly; monkish

In Japanese, priestly is 坊主くさい, read ぼうずくさい (bouzukusai).

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

adj-i overly pious; sanctimonious; priestly; monkish

Written forms: 坊主くさい、坊主臭い. Readings: ぼうずくさい.

Kanji and stroke order

坊

boy, priest's residence, priest

on: ボウ、ボッ

7 strokes · JLPT 2

主

lord, chief, master

on: シュ、ス、シュウ
kun: ぬし、おも、あるじ

5 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
赤ん坊	あかんぼう akanbou	baby; infant
坊主	ぼうず bouzu	Buddhist priest; bonze
坊さん	ぼうさん bousan	Buddhist priest; monk
坊ちゃん	ぼっちゃん botchan	(another's) son; boy; young master
坊や	ぼうや bouya	boy; son; child
本因坊	ほんいんぼう hon'inbou	Hon'inbō; Honinbo; grandmaster
主義	しゅぎ shugi	doctrine; rule; principle
主張	しゅちょう shuchou	claim; insistence; assertion

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.