Japanese symbol for “savage”
野蛮
やばん
Romaji: yaban
savage; barbarous; barbaric; uncivilized
In Japanese, savage is 野蛮, read やばん (yaban).
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
- adj-na, n savage; barbarous; barbaric; uncivilized; uncivilised
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “savage”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 残虐 | ざんぎゃく zangyaku | cruel; brutal; savage |
| 未開 | みかい mikai | uncivilized; uncivilised; primitive |
| 凶暴 | きょうぼう kyoubou | ferocious; brutal; atrocious |
| 鬼畜 | きちく kichiku | brute; savage; fiend |
| 蛮人 | ばんじん banjin | savage; barbarian; aboriginal |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 野球 | やきゅう yakyuu | baseball |
| 分野 | ぶんや bun'ya | field; sphere; realm |
| 野菜 | やさい yasai | vegetable |
| 野党 | やとう yatou | opposition party; the opposition |
| 視野 | しや shiya | field of vision; view |
| 平野 | へいや heiya | plain; open field |
| 南蛮 | なんばん nanban | southern barbarians (name used in ancient China for non-Chinese ethnic groups to the south) |
| 蛮行 | ばんこう bankou | act of barbarity; barbarism; brutality |
See also: Chinese symbol for “savage”.
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.