Japanese symbol for “vanquish”
屠る
ほふる
Romaji: hofuru
to slaughter; to massacre; to butcher
In Japanese, vanquish is 屠る, read ほふる (hofuru).
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
- v5r, vt to slaughter; to massacre; to butcher
- v5r, vt to defeat soundly; to overpower; to vanquish
Written forms: 屠る、宰る. Readings: ほふる、はふる、ほぶる.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 屠殺 | とさつ tosatsu | slaughter (of animals for meat); butchery |
| 屠蘇 | とそ toso | spiced sake (served at New Year's) |
| お屠蘇 | おとそ otoso | New Year's sake; spiced sake |
| 屠殺場 | とさつじょう tosatsujou | abattoir; slaughterhouse |
| 屠所 | としょ tosho | abattoir; slaughterhouse |
See also: Chinese symbol for “vanquish”.
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.