Japanese symbol for “sadly”
敢え無く
あえなく
Romaji: aenaku
sadly; tragically
In Japanese, sadly is 敢え無く, read あえなく (aenaku).
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
- adv sadly; tragically
Written forms: 敢え無く、敢えなく、敢無く. Readings: あえなく.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sadly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| しんみり | しんみり shinmiri | solemnly; sadly |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勇敢 | ゆうかん yuukan | brave; courageous; gallant |
| 果敢 | かかん kakan | resolute; determined; bold |
| 敢行 | かんこう kankou | decisive action; going through with; daring to do |
| 敢えて | あえて aete | purposely (of something needless, unexpected or seemingly counterproductive, etc.); daringly (doing something); deliberately |
| 敢闘 | かんとう kantou | fighting bravely |
| 敢然 | かんぜん kanzen | boldly; bravely; resolutely |
| 無料 | むりょう muryou | free (of charge); gratuitous |
| 無理 | むり muri | unreasonable; unnatural; unjustifiable |
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.