King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “weakling”

Romaji: yowamushi
coward; weakling; scaredy cat; wimp

In Japanese, weakling is , read (yowamushi).

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

  1. adj-na, adj-no, n coward; weakling; scaredy cat; wimp; sissy

Kanji and stroke order

weak, frail
on: ジャク
kun: よわ.い、よわ.る、よわ.まる、よわ.める
10 strokes · JLPT 3
insect, bug, temper
on: チュウ、キ
kun: むし
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “weakling”

WordReadingMeaning
みそ misoweakling; weak person
よわみそ yowamisoweakling; coward
いくじなし ikujinashicoward; sissy; weakling
こんじょうなし konjounashicoward; gutless person; sissy
ヘタレ hetaregood-for-nothing; loser; weakling

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
よわい yowaiweak; frail; delicate
じゃくてん jakutenweak point; weakness; shortcoming
よわみ yowami(a) weakness; shortcoming; failing
よわき yowakitimid; weak-kneed; fainthearted
ひんじゃく hinjakupoor; meagre; meager
ぜいじゃく zeijakuweak; frail; fragile
こんちゅう konchuuinsect; bug
むしば mushibatooth decay; decayed tooth; dental cavity

See also: Chinese symbol for “weakling”.

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.