Japanese symbol for “wasteland”
荒野
こうや
Romaji: kouya
wasteland; wilderness; deserted land; prairie
In Japanese, wasteland is 荒野, read こうや (kouya).
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 wasteland; wilderness; deserted land; prairie; vast plain; wilds
Written forms: 荒野、荒れ野、曠野. Readings: こうや、あれの、あらの.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “wasteland”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 荒地 | あれち arechi | wasteland; wilderness; abandoned land |
| 蓬生 | よもぎう yomogiu | wasteland; area overgrown with weeds |
| 荒地 | あれち arechi | The Wasteland (poem by T.S. Eliot) |
| 荒土 | こうど koudo | wasteland; barren or infertile soil |
| 不毛の地 | ふもうのち fumounochi | barren land; sterile soil; wasteland |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 荒れる | あれる areru | to become stormy; to become rough (of the sea) |
| 荒木 | あらき araki | logs in bark; rough wood; unseasoned timber |
| 荒れ | あれ are | stormy weather; tempest; chaps (of skin) |
| 荒らす | あらす arasu | to lay waste; to devastate; to damage |
| 荒い | あらい arai | rough; wild; violent |
| 野球 | やきゅう yakyuu | baseball |
| 分野 | ぶんや bun'ya | field; sphere; realm |
| 野菜 | やさい yasai | vegetable |
See also: Chinese symbol for “wasteland”.
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.