King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “sarcasm”

Romaji: hiniku
irony; sarcasm; cynicism; satire

In Japanese, sarcasm is , read (hiniku).

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. adj-na, adj-no, n irony; sarcasm; cynicism; satire
  2. adj-na, adj-no, n unexpected; different from what one expected; not as one had planned
  3. n (only) surface; something superficial
  4. n skin and bone; body

Kanji and stroke order

pelt, skin, hide
on: ヒ
kun: かわ
5 strokes · JLPT 2
meat
on: ニク
kun: しし
6 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “sarcasm”

WordReadingMeaning
ふうし fuushisatire; irony; sarcasm
れいひょう reihyousarcasm; sneer; jeer
あてこと atekotosnide remark; sarcasm

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひふ hifuskin
けがわ kegawafur; skin; pelt
かわきり kawakiribeginning; start
だっぴ dappiecdysis; shedding (of skin); sloughing
じゅひ juhibark (of a tree, etc.)
きんにく kinnikumuscle
にくたい nikutaithe body; the flesh; the outer man
ぎゅうにく gyuunikubeef

See also: Chinese symbol for “sarcasm”.

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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