King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “vermin”

Romaji: gaichuu
harmful insect; noxious insect; pest; vermin

In Japanese, vermin is , read (gaichuu).

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. n harmful insect; noxious insect; pest; vermin

Kanji and stroke order

harm, injury
on: ガイ
10 strokes · JLPT 2
insect, bug, temper
on: チュウ、キ
kun: むし
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “vermin”

WordReadingMeaning
がいちょう gaichouvermin; injurious bird
ヴァーミン vaaminvermin
ばいきん baikinsomething dirty or harmful; vermin
がいじゅう gaijuuharmful animal; pest; vermin
にんげんのクズ ningennokuzuscum of society; good-for-nothing; vermin

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひがい higai(suffering) damage; injury; harm
しょうがい shougaiobstacle; impediment; hindrance
さいがい saigaicalamity; disaster; misfortune
そんがい songaidamage; injury; loss
ぼうがい bougaiobstruction; hindrance; blocking
ゆうがい yuugaiharmful; hazardous
こんちゅう konchuuinsect; bug
むしば mushibatooth decay; decayed tooth; dental cavity

See also: Chinese symbol for “vermin”.

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.