King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “cleave”

Romaji: kirisusumu
to cleave; to saw through; to hack apart

In Japanese, cleave is , read (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

  1. v5m to cleave; to saw through; to hack apart

Kanji and stroke order

cut, cutoff, be sharp
on: セツ、サイ
kun: き.る、-き.る、き.り、-き.り
4 strokes · JLPT 3
advance, proceed, progress
on: シン
kun: すす.む、すす.める
11 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “cleave”

WordReadingMeaning
さく sakuto cut up; to cleave; to cut open (esp. the abdomen)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
たいせつ taisetsuimportant; significant; serious
いっさい issaiall; everything; entirety
てきせつ tekisetsuappropriate; suitable; fitting
きり kiriend; finish; place to stop
きる kiruto cut; to cut through; to perform (surgery)
しんせつ shinsetsukind; gentle; considerate
すいしん suishinpropulsion; drive
しんこう shinkoumoving 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.

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