Japanese symbol for “resection”

切除

せつじょ

Romaji: setsujo

cut off; cut out; ablation; resection

In Japanese, resection is 切除, read せつじょ (setsujo).

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 cut off; cut out; ablation; resection; surgical removal

Kanji and stroke order

切

cut, cutoff, be sharp

on: セツ、サイ
kun: き.る、-き.る、き.り、-き.り

4 strokes · JLPT 3

除

exclude, division (x/3), remove

on: ジョ、ジ
kun: のぞ.く、-よ.け

10 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
大切	たいせつ taisetsu	important; significant; serious
一切	いっさい issai	all; everything; entirety
適切	てきせつ tekisetsu	appropriate; suitable; fitting
切り	きり kiri	end; finish; place to stop
切る	きる kiru	to cut; to cut through; to perform (surgery)
親切	しんせつ shinsetsu	kind; gentle; considerate
解除	かいじょ kaijo	termination (of a contract); cancellation; rescinding
掃除	そうじ souji	cleaning; sweeping; dusting

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.