Japanese symbol for “provoking”
憎い
にくい
Romaji: nikui
hateful; detestable; abominable; vexing
In Japanese, provoking is 憎い, read にくい (nikui).
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 hateful; detestable; abominable; vexing; provoking
- adj-i amazing; fantastic; admirable; lovely; wonderful
Written forms: 憎い、悪い. Readings: にくい、ニクい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “provoking”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 腹立たしい | はらだたしい haradatashii | irritating; aggravating; upsetting |
| 小憎らしい | こにくらしい konikurashii | provoking; rather annoying |
| 忌々しい | いまいましい imaimashii | annoying; infuriating; provoking |
| 面憎い | つらにくい tsuranikui | provoking; offensive |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 憎悪 | ぞうお zouo | hatred; abhorrence; loathing |
| 憎しみ | にくしみ nikushimi | hatred |
| 憎む | にくむ nikumu | to hate; to detest |
| 愛憎 | あいぞう aizou | love and hate |
| 生憎 | あいにく ainiku | unfortunately; sorry, but ... |
See also: Chinese symbol for “provoking”.
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.