King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “unprofitable”

Romaji: son
loss; damage; harm; unprofitable

In Japanese, unprofitable is , read (son).

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

  1. adj-na, n, vi loss; damage; harm; unprofitable
  2. adj-na, n disadvantage; handicap; drawback; unfavorable

Kanji and stroke order

damage, loss, disadvantage
on: ソン
kun: そこ.なう、そこな.う、-そこ.なう、そこ.ねる
13 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “unprofitable”

WordReadingMeaning
わるい waruiunprofitable; unbeneficial
わりのわるい warinowaruiunprofitable; disadvantageous; not worth it
わりがわるい warigawaruiunprofitable; disadvantageous; not worth it
ふため futamedisadvantageous; harmful; unprofitable

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
そんがい songaidamage; injury; loss
そんしつ sonshitsuloss (of assets, profit, etc.)
はそん hasondamage; breakage
そんしょう sonshoudamage; injury
そこなう sokonauto harm; to hurt; to injure
そんえき son'ekiprofit and loss; advantage and disadvantage

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.

Last posts

  1. Using a Tsuba on Your Bokken for Partner Practice
  2. How Much Should You Spend on a Wooden Practice Sword
  3. How Long Should a Bokken Be for Your Height
  4. Red Oak vs White Oak for Bokken Which Wood Wins
  5. Best Bokken for Beginners: Choosing Your First Training Sword
  6. Best Escrima Sticks for Students Choosing Your First Pair
  7. Essential Accessories for Your First Pair of Escrima Sticks
  8. Best Escrima Sticks for Your First Seminar
  9. Best Canes for Cane-Fu and Hapkido Training
  10. Which Rattan Sticks Have the Most Nodes for Durability