Japanese symbol for “massacre”
虐殺
ぎゃくさつ
Romaji: gyakusatsu
slaughter; massacre
In Japanese, massacre is 虐殺, read ぎゃくさつ (gyakusatsu).
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, vs, vt slaughter; massacre
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “massacre”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 皆殺し | みなごろし minagoroshi | massacre; annihilation; wholesale slaughter |
| 殺戮 | さつりく satsuriku | slaughter; massacre |
| 惨殺 | ざんさつ zansatsu | slaughter; massacre |
| 鏖殺 | おうさつ ousatsu | massacre; extermination |
| 屠る | ほふる hofuru | to slaughter; to massacre; to butcher |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 虐待 | ぎゃくたい gyakutai | abuse; ill-treatment; maltreatment |
| 残虐 | ざんぎゃく zangyaku | cruel; brutal; savage |
| 虐め | いじめ ijime | bullying; teasing |
| 暴虐 | ぼうぎゃく bougyaku | tyranny; atrocity |
| 自虐 | じぎゃく jigyaku | self-torture; masochism; inflicting damage to oneself |
| 殺人 | さつじん satsujin | murder; homicide; manslaughter |
| 自殺 | じさつ jisatsu | suicide |
| 殺す | ころす korosu | to kill; to slay; to murder |
See also: Chinese symbol for “massacre”.
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.