Japanese symbol for “violence”
暴力
ぼうりょく
Romaji: bouryoku
violence; mayhem
In Japanese, violence is 暴力, read ぼうりょく (bouryoku).
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
- n violence; mayhem
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “violence”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 乱暴 | らんぼう ranbou | violence; assault; rowdiness |
| 暴挙 | ぼうきょ boukyo | violence; reckless action; (an) outrage |
| 横暴 | おうぼう oubou | violence; oppression; high-handedness |
| 激烈 | げきれつ gekiretsu | violence; vehemence; fury |
| 暴 | ぼう bou | violence; force |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 暴動 | ぼうどう boudou | insurrection; riot; uprising |
| 暴露 | ばくろ bakuro | disclosure; exposure; revelation |
| 乱暴 | らんぼう ranbou | violence; assault; rowdiness |
| 暴行 | ぼうこう boukou | assault; outrage; act of violence |
| 暴落 | ぼうらく bouraku | slump; crash; heavy fall |
| 協力 | きょうりょく kyouryoku | cooperation; collaboration; help |
| 能力 | のうりょく nouryoku | ability; faculty |
| 努力 | どりょく doryoku | effort; exertion; endeavour |
See also: Chinese symbol for “violence”.
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.