Japanese symbol for “dying”
死亡
しぼう
Romaji: shibou
death; dying; mortality
In Japanese, dying is 死亡, read しぼう (shibou).
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
- n, vi, vs death; dying; mortality
Written forms: 死亡、ﾀﾋ亡. Readings: しぼう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “dying”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 死に | しに shini | dying; death |
| 枯死 | こし koshi | withering; dying |
| 一死 | いっし isshi | dying; laying down one's life |
| お陀仏 | おだぶつ odabutsu | dying; kicking the bucket |
| 滅 | めつ metsu | dying (from overwhelming emotion); being overwhelmed (by something) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 必死 | ひっし hisshi | frantic; frenetic; desperate |
| 死刑 | しけい shikei | death penalty; capital punishment |
| 死者 | ししゃ shisha | dead person; (the) deceased; (the) dead |
| 死体 | したい shitai | dead body; corpse; cadaver |
| 死去 | しきょ shikyo | death; decease; passing away |
| 亡命 | ぼうめい boumei | fleeing from one's country; seeking asylum; defection |
| 滅亡 | めつぼう metsubou | downfall; ruin; collapse |
| 逃亡 | とうぼう toubou | escape; flight; running away |
See also: Chinese symbol for “dying”.
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.