Japanese symbol for “missing”

行方不明

ゆくえふめい

Romaji: yukuefumei

missing (of a person); lost; unaccounted for; whereabouts unknown

In Japanese, missing is 行方不明, read ゆくえふめい (yukuefumei).

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-no, n missing (of a person); lost; unaccounted for; whereabouts unknown

Kanji and stroke order

行

going, journey, carry out

on: コウ、ギョウ、アン
kun: い.く、ゆ.く、-ゆ.き、-ゆき

6 strokes · JLPT 4

方

direction, person, alternative

on: ホウ
kun: かた、-かた、-がた

4 strokes · JLPT 3

不

negative, non-, bad

on: フ、ブ

4 strokes · JLPT 3

明

bright, light

on: メイ、ミョウ、ミン
kun: あ.かり、あか.るい、あか.るむ、あか.らむ

8 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “missing”

Word	Reading	Meaning
欠測	けっそく kessoku	missing (data, observation, etc.)
行方知れず	ゆくえしれず yukueshirezu	missing (of a person); lost; unaccounted for
生死不明	せいしふめい seishifumei	not knowing whether someone is dead or alive; of unknown fate; missing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
行動	こうどう koudou	action; conduct; behaviour
行う	おこなう okonau	to perform; to do; to conduct oneself
銀行	ぎんこう ginkou	bank; banking institution
行き	いき iki	the way there; outbound leg; outbound trip
行為	こうい koui	act; deed; conduct
旅行	りょこう ryokou	travel; trip; journey
方法	ほうほう houhou	method; way; manner
一方	いっぽう ippou	one (esp. of two); the other; one way
不明	ふめい fumei	unclear; obscure; indistinct
説明	せつめい setsumei	explanation; exposition; description

See also: Chinese symbol for “missing”.

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.