Japanese symbol for “substandard”
草
くさ
Romaji: kusa
grass; weed; herb; thatch
In Japanese, substandard is 草, read くさ (kusa).
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 grass; weed; herb; thatch
- n ninja
- n marijuana; cannabis
- pref not genuine; substandard
- exp LOL; haha
Written forms: 草、艸. Readings: くさ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “substandard”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 低水準 | ていすいじゅん teisuijun | substandard; low-level |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 煙草 | タバコ tabako | tobacco; cigarette; cigar |
| 草原 | そうげん sougen | grassy field; grassland; meadow |
| 雑草 | ざっそう zassou | weed |
| 草食 | そうしょく soushoku | herbivorous; plant-eating; graminivorous |
| 草木 | くさき kusaki | plants; vegetation |
| 草案 | そうあん souan | draft (for a speech, bill, etc.) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “substandard”.
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.