Japanese symbol for “unofficial”
非公式
ひこうしき
Romaji: hikoushiki
informal; unofficial
In Japanese, unofficial is 非公式, read ひこうしき (hikoushiki).
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, adj-no, n informal; unofficial
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “unofficial”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勝手 | かって katte | unauthorised (e.g. phone app, WWW site); unofficial |
| 私製 | しせい shisei | privately-made (esp. postcard, mailing card, etc.); commercially-made; non-government |
| 非公認 | ひこうにん hikounin | unofficial; unauthorised |
| アングラ | アングラ angura | underground (economy, press, etc.); unofficial; illegal |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 非常 | ひじょう hijou | emergency |
| 是非 | ぜひ zehi | certainly; without fail |
| 非難 | ひなん hinan | criticism; blame; censure |
| 非公開 | ひこうかい hikoukai | private; non-public; secret |
| 非行 | ひこう hikou | delinquency; misconduct |
| 公開 | こうかい koukai | opening to the public; making available to the public; exhibiting |
| 公式 | こうしき koushiki | official; formal |
| 公演 | こうえん kouen | public performance |
| 形式 | けいしき keishiki | form (as opposed to substance) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “unofficial”.
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.