Japanese symbol for “spoil”
損なう
そこなう
Romaji: sokonau
to harm; to hurt; to injure; to damage
In Japanese, spoil is 損なう, read そこなう (sokonau).
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
- v5u, vt to harm; to hurt; to injure; to damage; to spoil; to mar
- suf, v5u to fail to do; to do amiss; to miss one's opportunity to do
- suf, v5u to almost do; to come close to doing
Written forms: 損なう、害う、損う. Readings: そこなう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “spoil”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 腐る | くさる kusaru | to rot; to go bad; to decay |
| 殺す | ころす korosu | to suppress; to block; to hamper |
| 甘やかす | あまやかす amayakasu | to pamper; to spoil |
| 壊す | こわす kowasu | to wreck; to ruin; to spoil |
| 当たる | あたる ataru | (of fruit, etc.) to be bruised; to spoil |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 損害 | そんがい songai | damage; injury; loss |
| 損失 | そんしつ sonshitsu | loss (of assets, profit, etc.) |
| 破損 | はそん hason | damage; breakage |
| 損傷 | そんしょう sonshou | damage; injury |
| 損益 | そんえき son'eki | profit and loss; advantage and disadvantage |
See also: Chinese symbol for “spoil”.
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.