King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “spineless”

Romaji: hikutsu
servile; subservient; obsequious; slavish

In Japanese, spineless is , read (hikutsu).

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

  1. adj-na, n servile; subservient; obsequious; slavish; self-abasing; grovelling

Kanji and stroke order

lowly, base, vile
on: ヒ
kun: いや.しい、いや.しむ、いや.しめる
9 strokes · JLPT 1
yield, bend, flinch
on: クツ
kun: かが.む、かが.める
8 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “spineless”

WordReadingMeaning
たまなし tamanashispineless; cowardly; lacking balls
なんじゃく nanjakuweak-willed; spineless; easily swayed
ふがいない fugainaigood-for-nothing; spineless; gutless
いくじのない ikujinonaispineless; backboneless; timid
きょうだ kyoudacowardly; spineless; weak-willed

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひれつ hiretsumean; contemptible; despicable
ひきょう hikyoucowardly; craven
だんそんじょひ dansonjohimale domination of women; male chauvinism; subjection of women
ひげ higeself-abasement; self-depreciation; humility
いやしい iyashiilowborn; humble; lowly
りくつ rikutsutheory; reason; logic
きゅうくつ kyuukutsunarrow; tight; cramped
たいくつ taikutsutedious; boring; dull

See also: Chinese symbol for “spineless”.

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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