苛 — “Torment / Scold / Chastise” in Japanese

Master (高手)か, いじ, さいな, いらだ, からい, こまかい

Radical ⾋ · radical 140 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Torment / Scold / Chastise” in Japanese is 苛, read ka, iji, saina (か, いじ, さいな, いらだ, からい, こまかい). 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 苛酷 (harsh).

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What does 苛 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	苛
Meaning	Torment / Scold / Chastise
Readings	か, いじ, さいな, いらだ, からい, こまかい
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	苛酷 (harsh)

How to read 苛

苛 is read ka (か) or iji (いじ) or saina (さいな) or irada (いらだ) or karai (からい) or komakai (こまかい) depending on the word.

Words with 苛

苛酷

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Updated: 2026-08-28