Japanese symbol for “scurvy”

壊血病

かいけつびょう

Romaji: kaiketsubyou

scurvy

In Japanese, scurvy is 壊血病, read かいけつびょう (kaiketsubyou).

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 scurvy (med)

Kanji and stroke order

壊

demolition, break, destroy

on: カイ、エ
kun: こわ.す、こわ.れる、やぶ.る

16 strokes · JLPT 1

血

blood

on: ケツ
kun: ち

6 strokes · JLPT 2

病

ill, sick

on: ビョウ、ヘイ
kun: や.む、-や.み、やまい

10 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
破壊	はかい hakai	destruction; disruption
崩壊	ほうかい houkai	collapse; crumbling; breaking down
壊す	こわす kowasu	to break; to destroy; to demolish
壊れる	こわれる kowareru	to be broken; to break; to fall apart
壊滅	かいめつ kaimetsu	(complete) destruction; annihilation; devastation
倒壊	とうかい toukai	destruction; collapse; crumbling
血液	けつえき ketsueki	blood
出血	しゅっけつ shukketsu	bleeding; haemorrhage; hemorrhage
病院	びょういん byouin	hospital; clinic; doctor's office

See also: Chinese symbol for “scurvy”.

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.