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Kanji Detail for 苛 - "harsh, bully"

  • Meaning

    苛 means "harsh, bully." Also associated with irritate.

    1. Harsh - Severe; strict.

    2. Irritate - To annoy; to vex.

    3. Bully - To persecute; to torment.

  • Words using

    • 苛める いじめる Listen to ill-treat; to bully; to torment
  • Four-character idioms with

    • 苛斂誅求 かれんちゅうきゅう Listen exaction of heavy taxes; imposing oppressive taxes
  • Tattoo check:

    • Verified meaning: harsh, bully
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Also carries these associations: irritate
    • Traditionally considered inauspicious in names — Japanese readers may find it an unlucky choice. Check the meanings above carefully before using it on skin.

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    torment; scold; chastise

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    small, petty; harsh, rigorous

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    severe; exacting

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    severe, harsh; rigorous, exacting

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Meticulous and harsh. Overly detailed government decrees are called 苛政 (harsh governance). Hence any overly strict handling of affairs is called 苛. Such as saying 苛求不已 (demanding endlessly).
  • Onyomi

    tip
  • Kunyomi

    tip
  • Strokes

    tip
  • Radical

    tip
  • Related Keywords

Sentences including

  • He thought irritably.

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