Japanese symbol for “smirk”
似非笑い
えせわらい
Romaji: esewarai
smirk; affected smile
In Japanese, smirk is 似非笑い, read えせわらい (esewarai).
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 smirk; affected smile
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “smirk”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ニヤつく | ニヤつく niyatsuku | to smirk; to grin broadly |
| ニヤッと笑う | ニヤッとわらう niyattowarau | to give a broad grin; to smirk |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 類似 | るいじ ruiji | resemblance; similarity; likeness |
| 似合う | にあう niau | to suit; to match; to become |
| 真似 | まね mane | imitating; copying; mimicry |
| 似合い | にあい niai | well-matched (esp. of a couple); becoming; suitable |
| 似る | にる niru | to resemble; to look like; to be like |
| 疑似 | ぎじ giji | pseudo; quasi; false |
| 非常 | ひじょう hijou | emergency |
| 是非 | ぜひ zehi | certainly; without fail |
| 笑顔 | えがお egao | smiling face; smile |
See also: Chinese symbol for “smirk”.
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.
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