Japanese symbol for “taxing”

骨の折れる

ほねのおれる

Romaji: honenooreru

laborious; arduous; strenuous; painstaking

In Japanese, taxing is 骨の折れる, read ほねのおれる (honenooreru).

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

adj-f, exp laborious; arduous; strenuous; painstaking; trying; taxing

Kanji and stroke order

骨

skeleton, bone, remains

on: コツ
kun: ほね

10 strokes · JLPT 2

折

fold, break, fracture

on: セツ、シャク
kun: お.る、おり、お.り、-お.り

7 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
骨折	こっせつ kossetsu	bone fracture
露骨	ろこつ rokotsu	open; unconcealed; undisguised
鉄骨	てっこつ tekkotsu	steel frame; steel beam; steel girder
骨格	こっかく kokkaku	skeleton; skeletal structure; build
背骨	せぼね sebone	spine; backbone; spinal column
遺骨	いこつ ikotsu	cremated remains (esp. the bones); ashes
時折	ときおり tokiori	sometimes; at intervals; occasionally
折り返し	おりかえし orikaeshi	by return; (call or write back) without delay

See also: Chinese symbol for “taxing”.

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.