Japanese symbol for “shear”
刈る
かる
Romaji: karu
to cut (grass, hair, etc.); to mow; to clip; to trim
In Japanese, shear is 刈る, read かる (karu).
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
- v5r, vt to cut (grass, hair, etc.); to mow; to clip; to trim; to prune; to shear
Written forms: 刈る、苅る. Readings: かる.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “shear”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ずり | ずり zuri | shear (wind, fluids) |
| シア | シア shia | shear (e.g. wind shear) |
| ずれ | ずれ zure | shear (e.g. shear stress) |
| せん断 | せんだん sendan | shear; shearing |
| 刈 | かり kari | cut; clip; shear |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 稲刈り | いねかり inekari | rice reaping; rice harvesting |
| 丸刈り | まるがり marugari | buzz cut; close crop |
| 刈り取る | かりとる karitoru | to mow; to reap; to harvest |
| 草刈り | くさかり kusakari | mowing; mower |
| 刈り込む | かりこむ karikomu | to prune; to trim; to cut back |
See also: Chinese symbol for “shear”.
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.