Japanese symbol for “cleave”

切り進む

きりすすむ

Romaji: kirisusumu

to cleave; to saw through; to hack apart

In Japanese, cleave is 切り進む, read きりすすむ (kirisusumu).

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

v5m to cleave; to saw through; to hack apart

Kanji and stroke order

切

cut, cutoff, be sharp

on: セツ、サイ
kun: き.る、-き.る、き.り、-き.り

4 strokes · JLPT 3

進

advance, proceed, progress

on: シン
kun: すす.む、すす.める

11 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “cleave”

Word	Reading	Meaning
裂く	さく saku	to cut up; to cleave; to cut open (esp. the abdomen)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
大切	たいせつ taisetsu	important; significant; serious
一切	いっさい issai	all; everything; entirety
適切	てきせつ tekisetsu	appropriate; suitable; fitting
切り	きり kiri	end; finish; place to stop
切る	きる kiru	to cut; to cut through; to perform (surgery)
親切	しんせつ shinsetsu	kind; gentle; considerate
推進	すいしん suishin	propulsion; drive
進行	しんこう shinkou	moving forward (e.g. of a vehicle); onward movement

See also: Chinese symbol for “cleave”.

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.