Japanese symbol for “ruin”
破滅
はめつ
Romaji: hametsu
ruin; destruction; fall
In Japanese, ruin is 破滅, read はめつ (hametsu).
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 ruin; destruction; fall
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ruin”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 没落 | ぼつらく botsuraku | ruin; fall; collapse |
| 荒廃 | こうはい kouhai | ruin; destruction; devastation |
| 滅亡 | めつぼう metsubou | downfall; ruin; collapse |
| 崩れ | くずれ kuzure | crumbling; collapse; ruin |
| 損なう | そこなう sokonau | to harm; to hurt; to injure |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 破壊 | はかい hakai | destruction; disruption |
| 突破 | とっぱ toppa | breaking through; breakthrough; penetration |
| 破産 | はさん hasan | bankruptcy; insolvency |
| 破る | やぶる yaburu | to tear; to rip; to break |
| 破損 | はそん hason | damage; breakage |
| 破片 | はへん hahen | fragment; broken piece; splinter |
| 消滅 | しょうめつ shoumetsu | extinction; extinguishment; disappearance |
| 絶滅 | ぜつめつ zetsumetsu | extinction; extermination |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ruin”.
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.