King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “desperate”

Romaji: hisshi
frantic; frenetic; desperate

In Japanese, desperate is , read (hisshi).

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. adj-na, adj-no frantic; frenetic; desperate
  2. n inevitable death
  3. n brinkmate (inevitable checkmate) (shogi)

Kanji and stroke order

invariably, certain, inevitable
on: ヒツ
kun: かなら.ず
5 strokes · JLPT 2
death, die
on: シ
kun: し.ぬ、し.に-
6 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “desperate”

WordReadingMeaning
やっき yakkidesperate; frantic; excited
デスパレート desupareetodesperate
ひたぶる hitaburudetermined; single-minded; intent
すてばち sutebachidesperate; reckless
ぜつぼうてき zetsuboutekidesperate; hopeless

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ひつよう hitsuyounecessary; needed; essential
かならず kanarazualways; without exception; necessarily
かならずしも kanarazushimo(not) always; (not) necessarily; (not) entirely
ひっす hissuindispensable; essential; requisite
ひつぜん hitsuzeninevitable; necessary; certain
しぼう shiboudeath; dying; mortality
しけい shikeideath penalty; capital punishment
ししゃ shishadead person; (the) deceased; (the) dead

See also: Chinese symbol for “desperate”.

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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