King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “scruffy”

Romaji: boroboro
worn-out; ragged; tattered; battered

In Japanese, scruffy is (boroboro).

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 worn-out; ragged; tattered; battered; scruffy
  2. adj-na, adv, adv-to crumbling; dry and crumbly
  3. adv, adv-to falling (in drops or clumps); scattering
  4. adj-na (physically or mentally) worn-out; exhausted
  5. adv, adv-to (coming to light) one after another

Written forms: . Readings: .

Other Japanese words for “scruffy”

WordReadingMeaning
ばんカラ bankarascruffy; unconcerned about one's personal appearance
むさくるしい musakurushiimessy; shabby; scruffy

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.

Last posts

  1. Is Hickory a Good Wood for a Practice Sword
  2. Best Bokken for Tall Practitioners Choosing the Right Fit
  3. How Heavy Should a Practice Bokken Be for Training
  4. Choosing a Training Sword for Stage and Historical Combat
  5. Best Wooden Swords for Kids Starting Martial Arts Forms
  6. Are Wooden Kung Fu Swords Balanced Like Real Steel Blades
  7. Buying a Wooden Jian for Beginners
  8. Choosing a Bokken with Scabbard for Iaido Beginners
  9. Is a Plastic Saya Worth Adding to a Bokken for Drawing?
  10. Choosing the Best Aikido Bokken for Daily Training