Japanese symbol for “vulture”

禿鷹

はげたか

Romaji: hagetaka

vulture; condor

In Japanese, vulture is 禿鷹, read はげたか (hagetaka).

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 vulture; condor

Written forms: 禿鷹、兀鷹. Readings: はげたか、ハゲタカ.

Kanji and stroke order

禿

become bald, bare, wear out

on: トク
kun: ちび.る、かむろ、は.げる、はげ

7 strokes

鷹

hawk

on: ヨウ、オウ
kun: たか

24 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
禿げる	はげる hageru	to lose hair; to become bald
禿頭	はげあたま hageatama	bald head
禿鷲	はげわし hagewashi	Old World vulture
禿び	ちび chibi	small child; pipsqueak; small fry
丸禿	まるはげ maruhage	complete baldness
鷹匠	たかじょう takajou	falconer; hawker
鷹野	たかの takano	falconry
大鷹	おおたか ootaka	northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

See also: Chinese symbol for “vulture”.

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.