Japanese symbol for “slave”
奴隷
どれい
Romaji: dorei
slave; servant
In Japanese, slave is 奴隷, read どれい (dorei).
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-no, n slave; servant
- adj-no, n slavery
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “slave”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 臣 | やつこ yatsuko | slave |
| スレーブ | スレーブ sureebu | slave (device) |
| 虜 | とりこ toriko | victim (of love, etc.); slave (to one's lust, etc.) |
| 被虜人 | ひりょにん hiryonin | slave |
| 虜 | りょ ryo | foreigner; barbarian; slave |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 奴ら | やつら yatsura | they; those guys |
| 売国奴 | ばいこくど baikokudo | traitor (to one's country); quisling |
| 奴等 | めら mera | pluralizing suffix |
| 彼奴 | あいつ aitsu | he; she; that guy |
| 此奴 | こいつ koitsu | he; she; this fellow |
| 隷書 | れいしょ reisho | clerical script (ancient, highly angular style of kanji) |
| 隷属 | れいぞく reizoku | subordination; servitude; servility |
| 隷従 | れいじゅう reijuu | slavery |
See also: Chinese symbol for “slave”.
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.