Japanese symbol for “skinner”

皮剥ぎ

かわはぎ

Romaji: kawahagi

thread-sail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer)

In Japanese, skinner is 皮剥ぎ, read かわはぎ (kawahagi).

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 thread-sail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer)
n skinning (an animal); stripping (a tree of its bark); barking; skinner; barker

Written forms: 皮剥ぎ、皮剥、皮剝ぎ、皮剝. Readings: かわはぎ、カワハギ.

Kanji and stroke order

皮

pelt, skin, hide

on: ヒ
kun: かわ

5 strokes · JLPT 2

剥

come off, peel, fade

on: ハク、ホク
kun: へ.ぐ、へず.る、む.く、む.ける

10 strokes

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
皮膚	ひふ hifu	skin
皮肉	ひにく hiniku	irony; sarcasm; cynicism
毛皮	けがわ kegawa	fur; skin; pelt
皮切り	かわきり kawakiri	beginning; start
脱皮	だっぴ dappi	ecdysis; shedding (of skin); sloughing
樹皮	じゅひ juhi	bark (of a tree, etc.)
剥がす	はがす hagasu	to tear off; to peel off; to rip off
剥く	むく muku	to peel; to skin; to pare

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.