Japanese symbol for “serious”
深刻
しんこく
Romaji: shinkoku
serious; severe; grave; acute
In Japanese, serious is 深刻, read しんこく (shinkoku).
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
- adj-na, n serious; severe; grave; acute
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “serious”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 重大 | じゅうだい juudai | serious; important; significant |
| 真剣 | しんけん shinken | serious; earnest |
| 大切 | たいせつ taisetsu | important; significant; serious |
| 大事 | だいじ daiji | important; serious; crucial |
| 難しい | むずかしい muzukashii | difficult; hard; troublesome |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 深い | ふかい fukai | deep (hole, forest, snow, etc.) |
| 深夜 | しんや shin'ya | late at night |
| 深める | ふかめる fukameru | to deepen; to heighten; to intensify |
| 興味深い | きょうみぶかい kyoumibukai | very interesting; of great interest |
| 深み | ふかみ fukami | deep place; depths |
| 時刻 | じこく jikoku | time; (the) hour |
| 彫刻 | ちょうこく choukoku | carving; engraving; sculpture |
| 遅刻 | ちこく chikoku | lateness; tardiness; arriving late |
See also: Chinese symbol for “serious”.
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.