King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “refuse”

Romaji: kotowaru
to refuse; to reject; to dismiss; to turn down

In Japanese, refuse is , read (kotowaru).

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

  1. v5r, vt to refuse; to reject; to dismiss; to turn down; to decline
  2. v5r, vt to inform; to give notice; to ask in advance (and get approval); to get permission
  3. v5r, vt to ask leave; to excuse oneself (from)

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

severance, decline, refuse
on: ダン
kun: た.つ、ことわ.る、さだ.める
11 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “refuse”

WordReadingMeaning
こばむ kobamuto refuse; to reject; to decline
あやまる ayamaruto refuse; to decline
ごみ gomirubbish; trash; garbage
しりぞける shirizokeruto refuse; to reject; to turn down
はいぶつ haibutsuwaste material; waste; useless article

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
はんだん handanjudgment; judgement; decision
しんだん shindandiagnosis; medical examination
けつだん ketsudandecision; determination
むだん mudanabsence of permission; lack of permission
ちゅうだん chuudaninterruption; suspension; break
だんねん dannenabandoning (hope, plans); giving up

See also: Chinese symbol for “refuse”.

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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