Japanese symbol for “disappear”

In Japanese, disappear is 消える, read きえる (kieru).

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. v1, vi to disappear; to vanish; to go out of sight; to go away; to become lost
2. v1, vi to go out (of a fire, light, etc.); to die; to turn off (e.g. of a TV screen)
3. v1, vi to fade (of a feeling, impression, etc.); to vanish (e.g. of hope)
4. v1, vi to go away (e.g. of a smell, itchiness, sleepiness); to disappear; to fade away (e.g. of footsteps)
5. v1, vi to wear away (e.g. of an inscription); to rub out (of writing); to fade (e.g. of ink)
6. v1, vi to be lost (e.g. of a tradition); to die out; to disappear

Kanji and stroke order

↻ Replay stroke order

Other Japanese words for “disappear”

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

See also: Chinese symbol for “disappear”.

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.