Japanese symbol for “ugly”
醜い
みにくい
Romaji: minikui
ugly; unattractive; bad-looking
In Japanese, ugly is 醜い, read みにくい (minikui).
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-i ugly; unattractive; bad-looking
- adj-i unsightly; unseemly; disgraceful; shameful; dishonorable
Written forms: 醜い、見憎い. Readings: みにくい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ugly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 醜悪 | しゅうあく shuuaku | ugly; unsightly; hideous |
| 悪い | わるい warui | ugly; not beautiful |
| 見苦しい | みぐるしい migurushii | unsightly; ugly; unseemly |
| 醜 | しこ shiko | ugly; repulsive; detestable |
| ダサい | ダサい dasai | uncool; lame; unfashionable |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 醜態 | しゅうたい shuutai | disgraceful behavior; disgraceful behaviour; shameful conduct |
| 醜悪 | しゅうあく shuuaku | ugly; unsightly; hideous |
| 醜聞 | しゅうぶん shuubun | scandal |
| 醜女 | しゅうじょ shuujo | ugly woman; unattractive woman |
| 美醜 | びしゅう bishuu | beauty or ugliness |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ugly”.
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.