Japanese symbol for “gruesome”
凄惨
せいさん
Romaji: seisan
ghastly; gruesome; appalling; lurid
In Japanese, gruesome is 凄惨, read せいさん (seisan).
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 ghastly; gruesome; appalling; lurid
Written forms: 凄惨、悽惨. Readings: せいさん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “gruesome”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 物凄い | ものすごい monosugoi | frightful; ghastly; horrific |
| 身の毛のよだつ | みのけのよだつ minokenoyodatsu | hair-raising; bloodcurdling; horrible |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 凄い | すごい sugoi | terrible; dreadful |
| 凄まじい | すさまじい susamajii | terrible; dreadful; awful |
| 物凄い | ものすごい monosugoi | terrific; staggering; tremendous |
| 凄く | すごく sugoku | extremely; very; terribly |
| 凄腕 | すごうで sugoude | remarkable ability; mastery; brilliant technique |
| 悲惨 | ひさん hisan | disastrous; tragic; miserable |
| 惨敗 | ざんぱい zanpai | ignominious defeat; crushing failure; utterly beaten |
| 惨め | みじめ mijime | miserable; wretched; unhappy |
See also: Chinese symbol for “gruesome”.
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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