Japanese symbol for “villainous”
無頼
ぶらい
Romaji: burai
villainous; rascally; knavish
In Japanese, villainous is 無頼, read ぶらい (burai).
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 villainous; rascally; knavish
- adj-na, adj-no, n independent; self-reliant
Written forms: 無頼. Readings: ぶらい、むらい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “villainous”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 根性曲がり | こんじょうまがり konjoumagari | villainous; warped |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 無料 | むりょう muryou | free (of charge); gratuitous |
| 無理 | むり muri | unreasonable; unnatural; unjustifiable |
| 無事 | ぶじ buji | safety; security; peace |
| 無駄 | むだ muda | futility; waste; uselessness |
| 無線 | むせん musen | radio (communication) |
| 無理やり | むりやり muriyari | forcibly; by force; against one's will |
| 信頼 | しんらい shinrai | trust (in); confidence; faith |
| 依頼 | いらい irai | request; commission; entrusting (with a matter) |
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.