Japanese symbol for “quibble”
屁理屈
へりくつ
Romaji: herikutsu
sophism; chop logic; far-fetched argument; quibble
In Japanese, quibble is 屁理屈, read へりくつ (herikutsu).
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 sophism; chop logic; far-fetched argument; quibble; cavil; argument for argument's sake
Written forms: 屁理屈、へ理屈、屁理窟. Readings: へりくつ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “quibble”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いちゃもん | いちゃもん ichamon | complaint; quibble; niggle |
| 小理屈 | こりくつ korikutsu | quibble; pointless argument |
| 包める | くるめる kurumeru | to lump together; to include; to sum up |
| かばち | かばち kabachi | quibble |
| 捏ねる | こねる koneru | to quibble; to argue for argument's sake |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 放屁 | ほうひ houhi | breaking wind; farting |
| 最後っ屁 | さいごっぺ saigoppe | stink bomb; foul odour emitted from the anal sacs of a frightened weasel |
| 河童の屁 | かっぱのへ kappanohe | something easy to do; cinch; a kappa's fart |
| 屁放き虫 | へこきむし hekokimushi | stinky bug (esp. the bombardier beetle); stink bug |
| 理由 | りゆう riyuu | reason; grounds; pretext |
| 理解 | りかい rikai | understanding; comprehension; appreciation |
| 無理 | むり muri | unreasonable; unnatural; unjustifiable |
| 管理 | かんり kanri | control; management (e.g. of a business) |
| 理屈 | りくつ rikutsu | theory; reason; logic |
See also: Chinese symbol for “quibble”.
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.
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