Japanese symbol for “outlive”

死に後れる

しにおくれる

Romaji: shiniokureru

to outlive

In Japanese, outlive is 死に後れる, read しにおくれる (shiniokureru).

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

v1, vi to outlive

Written forms: 死に後れる、死に遅れる. Readings: しにおくれる.

Kanji and stroke order

死

death, die

on: シ
kun: し.ぬ、し.に-

6 strokes · JLPT 3

後

behind, back, later

on: ゴ、コウ
kun: のち、うし.ろ、うしろ、あと

9 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
死亡	しぼう shibou	death; dying; mortality
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
最後	さいご saigo	end; conclusion
今後	こんご kongo	from now on; hereafter

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.