Japanese symbol for “unlawful”
不法
ふほう
Romaji: fuhou
unlawful; illegal
In Japanese, unlawful is 不法, read ふほう (fuhou).
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 unlawful; illegal
- adj-na, n unreasonable; outrageous; unjust; unwarranted
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “unlawful”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 違法 | いほう ihou | illegal; illicit; unlawful |
| 非合法 | ひごうほう higouhou | illegal; unlawful |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不明 | ふめい fumei | unclear; obscure; indistinct |
| 不安 | ふあん fuan | anxiety; uneasiness; worry |
| 不足 | ふそく fusoku | insufficiency; deficiency; shortage |
| 不満 | ふまん fuman | dissatisfaction; discontent; displeasure |
| 不可能 | ふかのう fukanou | impossible |
| 不思議 | ふしぎ fushigi | wonderful; marvelous; strange |
| 方法 | ほうほう houhou | method; way; manner |
| 法律 | ほうりつ houritsu | law; legislation; act |
See also: Chinese symbol for “unlawful”.
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.