Japanese symbol for “purgatory”
煉獄
れんごく
Romaji: rengoku
purgatory
In Japanese, purgatory is 煉獄, read れんごく (rengoku).
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 purgatory (Christn)
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 煉瓦 | れんが renga | brick |
| 化粧煉瓦 | けしょうれんが keshourenga | ornamental tile; facing bricks |
| 舗装煉瓦 | ほそうれんが hosourenga | paving brick |
| 木煉瓦 | もくれんが mokurenga | wooden block |
| 耐火煉瓦 | たいかれんが taikarenga | firebrick |
| 地獄 | じごく jigoku | hell realm; Naraka |
| 監獄 | かんごく kangoku | prison |
| 獄中 | ごくちゅう gokuchuu | during imprisonment; while in jail |
See also: Chinese symbol for “purgatory”.
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.