Japanese symbol for “tease”
食う
くう
Romaji: kuu
to eat
In Japanese, tease is 食う, read くう (kuu).
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 eat
- v5u, vt to live; to make a living; to survive
- v5u, vt to bite; to sting (as insects do)
- v5u, vt to tease; to torment; to taunt; to make light of; to make fun of
- v5u, vt to encroach on; to eat into; to consume
- v5u, vt to defeat a superior; to threaten a position
Written forms: 食う、喰う、啖う. Readings: くう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tease”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 遊ぶ | あそぶ asobu | to tease (someone); to play (with) |
| 焦らす | じらす jirasu | to tease; to irritate; to tantalize |
| 構う | かまう kamau | to tease |
| 嬲る | なぶる naburu | to tease; to make fun of; to make sport of |
| おちょくる | おちょくる ochokuru | to tease; to banter; to make fun of (someone) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 食事 | しょくじ shokuji | meal (e.g. lunch, dinner) |
| 食品 | しょくひん shokuhin | food; food products; foodstuffs |
| 食べ物 | たべもの tabemono | food |
| 食料 | しょくりょう shokuryou | food |
| 食べる | たべる taberu | to eat |
See also: Chinese symbol for “tease”.
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.