Japanese symbol for “cutthroat”

熾烈

しれつ

Romaji: shiretsu

fierce (fight, competition, etc.); severe; hot; hard

In Japanese, cutthroat is 熾烈, read しれつ (shiretsu).

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-na, n fierce (fight, competition, etc.); severe; hot; hard; bitter; keen

Written forms: 熾烈、し烈. Readings: しれつ、しきれつ.

Kanji and stroke order

熾

kindling fire

on: シ
kun: おこ.る、おこ.す、さかん

16 strokes

烈

ardent, violent, vehement

on: レツ
kun: はげ.しい

10 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
熾す	おこす okosu	to build (a fire); to make; to start
熾火	おきび okibi	glowing ember (either red hot charcoal or the glowing remains of burnt firewood); live charcoal
熾きる	おきる okiru	to be kindled (fire); to be made
熾熱	しねつ shinetsu	intense heat
熾天使	してんし shitenshi	seraph
強烈	きょうれつ kyouretsu	strong; intense; severe
猛烈	もうれつ mouretsu	fierce; intense; severe
熱烈	ねつれつ netsuretsu	ardent; passionate; vehement

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.