Japanese symbol for “aghast”
愕然
がくぜん
Romaji: gakuzen
astonished; shocked; amazed; astounded
In Japanese, aghast is 愕然, read がくぜん (gakuzen).
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
- adj-t, adv-to astonished; shocked; amazed; astounded; aghast
Written forms: 愕然、がく然. Readings: がくぜん.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 驚愕 | きょうがく kyougaku | astonishment; amazement; surprise |
| 自然 | しぜん shizen | nature |
| 当然 | とうぜん touzen | natural; right; proper |
| 全然 | ぜんぜん zenzen | (not) at all; (not) in the slightest |
| 突然 | とつぜん totsuzen | abrupt; sudden; unexpected |
| 天然 | てんねん tennen | nature; spontaneity |
| 偶然 | ぐうぜん guuzen | coincidence; chance; accident |
See also: Chinese symbol for “aghast”.
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.
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