Japanese symbol for “sly”
狡い
ずるい
Romaji: zurui
sly; cunning; sneaky; crafty
In Japanese, sly is 狡い, read ずるい (zurui).
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-i sly; cunning; sneaky; crafty; unfair; dishonest
- adj-i miserly; mean; stingy
Written forms: 狡い. Readings: ずるい、こすい、ズルイ、ズルい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 狡猾 | こうかつ koukatsu | sly; cunning; crafty |
| 陰湿 | いんしつ inshitsu | malicious; spiteful; vicious |
| 陰険 | いんけん inken | crafty; tricky; sly |
| 悪賢い | わるがしこい warugashikoi | cunning; crafty; wily |
| あざとい | あざとい azatoi | calculating; sly; cunning |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 狡猾 | こうかつ koukatsu | sly; cunning; crafty |
| 狡知 | こうち kouchi | craft; cunning |
| 狡ける | ずるける zurukeru | to shirk one's duties; to be idle; to play truant |
| 狡猾老獪 | こうかつろうかい koukatsuroukai | sly and crafty |
| 狡兎三窟 | こうとさんくつ koutosankutsu | very shrewd in preparing a means of escape; being very good at escaping danger |
See also: Chinese symbol for “sly”.
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.