Japanese symbol for “astonished”
愕然
がくぜん
Romaji: gakuzen
astonished; shocked; amazed; astounded
In Japanese, astonished 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
Other Japanese words for “astonished”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 憮然 | ぶぜん buzen | disappointed; dejected; disheartened |
| びっくり仰天 | びっくりぎょうてん bikkurigyouten | astonished; stunned; startled out of one's wits |
| 駭然 | がいぜん gaizen | astonished; very surprised |
| 目を回す | めをまわす meomawasu | to be astounded; to astonished |
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 “astonished”.
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.