King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “sullen”

Romaji: muzukashii
difficult; hard; troublesome; complicated

In Japanese, sullen is , read (muzukashii).

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-i difficult; hard; troublesome; complicated; serious (disease, problem, etc.)
  2. adj-i impossible; unfeasible
  3. adj-i fussy; particular; fastidious; hard to please; displeased
  4. adj-i gloomy; glum; sullen; serious (look)
  5. adj-i dirty; unclean; filthy; detestable
  6. adj-i unpleasant; uncomfortable; creepy; spooky

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

difficult, impossible, trouble
on: ナン
kun: かた.い、-がた.い、むずか.しい、むづか.しい
18 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “sullen”

WordReadingMeaning
しぶい shibuisour (look); glum; grim
きむずかしい kimuzukashiibad-tempered; in a bad mood; displeased
さえない saenaidull; dreary; sullen

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
こんなん konnandifficulty; hardship; trouble
ひなん hinantaking refuge; finding shelter; evacuation
ひなん hinancriticism; blame; censure
なんみん nanminrefugee; displaced person
とうなん tounantheft; robbery

See also: Chinese symbol for “sullen”.

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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