Japanese symbol for “rusting”

発錆

はっせい

Romaji: hassei

rusting; onset of rust

In Japanese, rusting is 発錆, read はっせい (hassei).

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 rusting; onset of rust

Kanji and stroke order

発

departure, discharge, publish

on: ハツ、ホツ
kun: た.つ、あば.く、おこ.る、つか.わす

9 strokes · JLPT 3

錆

rust, tarnish

on: ショウ、セイ
kun: さび、くわ.しい

16 strokes

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
発売	はつばい hatsubai	sale; offering for sale; putting on sale
発表	はっぴょう happyou	announcement; publication; presenting
開発	かいはつ kaihatsu	development; cultivation; application
発生	はっせい hassei	occurrence; incidence; outbreak
発見	はっけん hakken	discovery; detection; finding
発言	はつげん hatsugen	statement; remark; observation
錆びる	さびる sabiru	to rust; to become rusty
錆色	さびいろ sabiiro	rust (colour)

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.