Japanese symbol for “vile”
卑しい
いやしい
Romaji: iyashii
lowborn; humble; lowly
In Japanese, vile is 卑しい, read いやしい (iyashii).
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 lowborn; humble; lowly
- adj-i vulgar; coarse; crude; mean; base; vile
- adj-i shabby; poor-looking
- adj-i greedy; gluttonous; avaricious
Written forms: 卑しい、賤しい、鄙しい. Readings: いやしい.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 卑劣 | ひれつ hiretsu | mean; contemptible; despicable |
| 卑怯 | ひきょう hikyou | cowardly; craven |
| 卑屈 | ひくつ hikutsu | servile; subservient; obsequious |
| 男尊女卑 | だんそんじょひ dansonjohi | male domination of women; male chauvinism; subjection of women |
| 卑下 | ひげ hige | self-abasement; self-depreciation; humility |
See also: Chinese symbol for “vile”.
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.
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