悪 — “bad / evil” in Japanese

Grade 3あく, お, わる

Radical ⼼ · radical 61 The building block this kanji is filed under

“bad / evil” in Japanese is 悪, read aku, o, waru (あく, お, わる). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 悪い (bad).

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What does 悪 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	悪
Meaning	bad / evil
Readings	あく, お, わる
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	悪い (bad)

How to read 悪

悪 is read aku (あく) or o (お) or waru (わる) depending on the word.

Words with 悪

悪いbad / evil
悪魔
邪悪
凶悪
醜悪

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Updated: 2026-08-28