Japanese symbol for “rampant”

奔放

ほんぽう

Romaji: honpou

wild; uninhibited; extravagant; rampant

In Japanese, rampant is 奔放, read ほんぽう (honpou).

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-na, n wild; uninhibited; extravagant; rampant

Kanji and stroke order

奔

run, bustle

on: ホン
kun: はし.る

8 strokes · JLPT 1

放

set free, release, fire

on: ホウ
kun: はな.す、-っぱな.し、はな.つ、はな.れる

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “rampant”

Word	Reading	Meaning
野放図	のほうず nohouzu	endless (e.g. spending); uncontrolled; rampant (e.g. weeds)
茫々	ぼうぼう boubou	rampant (weeds, etc.); running wild; overgrown

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
奔走	ほんそう honsou	running about; making every effort (to do); busying oneself (with)
狂奔	きょうほん kyouhon	rushing around; running wild
奔流	ほんりゅう honryuu	torrent; rapid stream; violently rushing stream
東奔西走	とうほんせいそう touhonseisou	busying oneself about (something); being on the move; bestirring oneself
出奔	しゅっぽん shuppon	flight; running away; absconding
放送	ほうそう housou	broadcasting; broadcast; program
解放	かいほう kaihou	release; unleashing; liberation
開放	かいほう kaihou	opening (a door, window, etc.); leaving open

See also: Chinese symbol for “rampant”.

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.