厄 — “Unlucky / Misfortune / Bad Luck / Disaster” in Japanese

Master (高手)やく

Radical ⼚ · radical 27 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Unlucky / Misfortune / Bad Luck / Disaster” in Japanese is 厄, read yaku (やく). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 厄年 (unlucky year).

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What does 厄 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	厄
Meaning	Unlucky / Misfortune / Bad Luck / Disaster
Readings	やく
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	厄年 (unlucky year)

How to read 厄

厄 is read yaku (やく) depending on the word.

Words with 厄

厄年

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Kanji read the same way as 厄

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28