Japanese symbol for “prisoner”
捕虜
ほりょ
Romaji: horyo
prisoner (of war); POW; captive
In Japanese, prisoner is 捕虜, read ほりょ (horyo).
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 prisoner (of war); POW; captive
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “prisoner”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 囚人 | しゅうじん shuujin | prisoner; convict |
| 虜 | とりこ toriko | captive; prisoner |
| 虜 | りょ ryo | captive; prisoner |
| 俘囚 | ふしゅう fushuu | prisoner (of war); captive |
| 虜囚 | りょしゅう ryoshuu | captive; prisoner (of war) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 逮捕 | たいほ taiho | arrest; apprehension; capture |
| 捕獲 | ほかく hokaku | capture; seizure |
| 捕鯨 | ほげい hogei | whaling; whale hunting; whale fishing |
| 捕手 | ほしゅ hoshu | catcher |
| 捕まえる | つかまえる tsukamaeru | to catch; to capture; to arrest |
| 虜囚 | りょしゅう ryoshuu | captive; prisoner (of war) |
| 俘虜 | ふりょ furyo | prisoner of war; captive |
| 捕虜交換 | ほりょこうかん horyokoukan | prisoner exchange |
See also: Chinese symbol for “prisoner”.
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.