Japanese symbol for “retaliation”
報復
ほうふく
Romaji: houfuku
retaliation; revenge; reprisal; retribution
In Japanese, retaliation is 報復, read ほうふく (houfuku).
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, vi, vs retaliation; revenge; reprisal; retribution
- n, vi, vs retorsion; retortion (law)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “retaliation”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 仕返し | しかえし shikaeshi | payback; tit for tat; retaliation |
| 挨拶 | あいさつ aisatsu | revenge; retaliation |
| 腹いせ | はらいせ haraise | retaliation; revenge |
| 敵討ち | かたきうち katakiuchi | vengeance; revenge; retaliation |
| 返礼 | へんれい henrei | retaliation; revenge |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 情報 | じょうほう jouhou | information; news; report |
| 報告 | ほうこく houkoku | report; information |
| 報道 | ほうどう houdou | report (of news); reporting; news |
| 報酬 | ほうしゅう houshuu | remuneration; recompense; reward |
| 予報 | よほう yohou | forecast; prediction |
| 警報 | けいほう keihou | warning; alarm; alert |
| 回復 | かいふく kaifuku | restoration; recovery; rehabilitation |
| 復活 | ふっかつ fukkatsu | revival (of an old system, custom, fashion, etc.); restoration; return |
See also: Chinese symbol for “retaliation”.
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.