Japanese symbol for “gasp”
喘ぐ
あえぐ
Romaji: aegu
to gasp; to pant; to breathe hard
In Japanese, gasp is 喘ぐ, read あえぐ (aegu).
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
- v5g, vi to gasp; to pant; to breathe hard
- v5g, vi to suffer; to struggle
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “gasp”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ハァハァ | ハァハァ haahaa | gasp; pant |
| 息づく | いきづく ikizuku | to breathe (heavily); to pant; to gasp |
| 息の下 | いきのした ikinoshita | gasp |
| 息を弾ませる | いきをはずませる ikiohazumaseru | to pant; to gasp; to be short of breath |
| 息せき切る | いきせききる ikisekikiru | to pant (while rushing); to gasp; to puff and blow |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 喘息 | ぜんそく zensoku | asthma |
| 喘ぎ | あえぎ aegi | gasping; puffing; wheezing |
| 喘鳴 | ぜんめい zenmei | stridor; wheezing; noisy breathing |
| 余喘 | よぜん yozen | lingering life; feeble existence; brink of ruin |
| 小児喘息 | しょうにぜんそく shounizensoku | infantile asthma |
See also: Chinese symbol for “gasp”.
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.