Japanese symbol for “sacrifice”
犠牲
ぎせい
Romaji: gisei
sacrifice
In Japanese, sacrifice is 犠牲, read ぎせい (gisei).
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 sacrifice
- n victim (esp. someone killed); casualty
- n sacrifice (to a deity)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sacrifice”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 犠打 | ぎだ gida | sacrifice (bunt or fly) |
| 身代わり | みがわり migawari | substitution (for someone else); substitute; stand-in |
| 生贄 | いけにえ ikenie | (living) sacrifice |
| 捨てる | すてる suteru | to sacrifice (stones) |
| 供える | そなえる sonaeru | to offer; to sacrifice; to dedicate |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 犠飛 | ぎひ gihi | sacrifice fly |
| 犠打 | ぎだ gida | sacrifice (bunt or fly) |
| 犠牲者 | ぎせいしゃ giseisha | victim (esp. someone killed); casualty |
| 自己犠牲 | じこぎせい jikogisei | self-sacrifice; self-renunciation |
| 犠牲的 | ぎせいてき giseiteki | self-sacrificing |
| 犠牲打 | ぎせいだ giseida | sacrifice (bunt or fly) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “sacrifice”.
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.