Japanese symbol for “bereavement”
死別
しべつ
Romaji: shibetsu
bereavement; separation by death; loss
In Japanese, bereavement is 死別, read しべつ (shibetsu).
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
- n, vi, vs bereavement; separation by death; loss
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “bereavement”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不幸 | ふこう fukou | death (usu. of a relative); bereavement |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 死亡 | しぼう shibou | death; dying; mortality |
| 必死 | ひっし hisshi | frantic; frenetic; desperate |
| 死刑 | しけい shikei | death penalty; capital punishment |
| 死者 | ししゃ shisha | dead person; (the) deceased; (the) dead |
| 死体 | したい shitai | dead body; corpse; cadaver |
| 死去 | しきょ shikyo | death; decease; passing away |
| 特別 | とくべつ tokubetsu | special; particular; extraordinary |
| 別に | べつに betsuni | (not) particularly; (not) especially; (not) specially |
See also: Chinese symbol for “bereavement”.
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.