Japanese symbol for “unlikely”
暗い
くらい
Romaji: kurai
dark; gloomy; murky
In Japanese, unlikely is 暗い, read くらい (kurai).
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 dark; gloomy; murky
- adj-i depressed; dispirited; down in the dumps; dark (mood)
- adj-i dark (in colour); dull
- adj-i ill-boding; dark (e.g. past); suspicious
- adj-i unlikely (to succeed); hopeless; unpromising
- adj-i unfamiliar (with); ignorant (of)
Written forms: 暗い、昏い、冥い、闇い. Readings: くらい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “unlikely”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 怪しい | あやしい ayashii | doubtful; unsure; uncertain |
| 可能性が低い | かのうせいがひくい kanouseigahikui | unlikely; improbable |
| 可能性の低い | かのうせいのひくい kanouseinohikui | unlikely; improbable |
| 飛んだ | とんだ tonda | unexpected; unlikely; strange |
| 無さそう | なさそう nasasou | does not seem; unlikely; improbable |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 暗殺 | あんさつ ansatsu | assassination |
| 真っ暗 | まっくら makkura | pitch-dark; pitch-black; completely dark |
| 暗号 | あんごう angou | code; password; cipher |
| 暗黙 | あんもく anmoku | tacit; unspoken; implicit |
| 暗黒 | あんこく ankoku | darkness |
See also: Chinese symbol for “unlikely”.
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.