Japanese symbol for “tampering”

細工

さいく

Romaji: saiku

work; workmanship; craftsmanship; handiwork

In Japanese, tampering is 細工, read さいく (saiku).

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, vs, vt work; workmanship; craftsmanship; handiwork
n, vs, vt artifice; trick; device; tampering; doctoring

Kanji and stroke order

細

dainty, get thin, taper

on: サイ
kun: ほそ.い、ほそ.る、こま.か、こま.かい

11 strokes · JLPT 2

工

craft, construction, katakana e radical (no. 48)

on: コウ、ク、グ

3 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
詳細	しょうさい shousai	details; particulars; specifics
細胞	さいぼう saibou	cell
細かい	こまかい komakai	small
細菌	さいきん saikin	bacterium; bacteria; germ
細い	ほそい hosoi	thin; slender; fine
繊細	せんさい sensai	dainty; delicate (e.g. fingers); fine
工場	こうじょう koujou	factory; plant; mill
工事	こうじ kouji	construction work

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.