Japanese symbol for “tyranny”
暴虐
ぼうぎゃく
Romaji: bougyaku
tyranny; atrocity
In Japanese, tyranny is 暴虐, read ぼうぎゃく (bougyaku).
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-na, n tyranny; atrocity
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tyranny”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 横暴 | おうぼう oubou | violence; oppression; high-handedness |
| 専横 | せんおう sen'ou | arbitrariness; despotism; high-handedness |
| 暴政 | ぼうせい bousei | tyranny |
| 苛政 | かせい kasei | tyranny; despotism |
| 暴威 | ぼうい boui | tyranny; abuse of power; violence (e.g. of a storm) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 暴力 | ぼうりょく bouryoku | violence; mayhem |
| 暴動 | ぼうどう boudou | insurrection; riot; uprising |
| 暴露 | ばくろ bakuro | disclosure; exposure; revelation |
| 乱暴 | らんぼう ranbou | violence; assault; rowdiness |
| 暴行 | ぼうこう boukou | assault; outrage; act of violence |
| 暴落 | ぼうらく bouraku | slump; crash; heavy fall |
| 虐殺 | ぎゃくさつ gyakusatsu | slaughter; massacre |
| 虐待 | ぎゃくたい gyakutai | abuse; ill-treatment; maltreatment |
See also: Chinese symbol for “tyranny”.
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.