King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “worst”

Romaji: saiaku
worst

In Japanese, worst is , read (saiaku).

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 worst
  2. adj-na, int horrible; horrid; awful; terrible
  3. adv in the worst case; if worst comes to worst

Kanji and stroke order

utmost, most, extreme
on: サイ、シュ
kun: もっと.も、つま
12 strokes · JLPT 2
bad, vice, rascal
on: アク、オ
kun: わる.い、わる-、あ.し、にく.い
11 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “worst”

WordReadingMeaning
さいてい saiteiworst
まんいち man'ichi(unlikely event of) emergency; the worst(-case scenario); 10000 to 1
ワースト waasutoworst
さいか saikathe lowest; the worst
とうげ tougepeak (e.g. of summer); worst (e.g. of an illness); crisis

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さいきん saikinrecently; lately; these days
さいご saigoend; conclusion
さいしょ saishobeginning; outset; first
さいこう saikoubest; supreme; wonderful
さいしゅう saishuulast; final; closing
さいだい saidaibiggest; greatest; largest
わるぐち waruguchi(verbal) abuse; speaking ill of people; bad-mouthing
あっか akkadeterioration; getting worse; worsening

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.