Japanese symbol for “severity”
激烈
げきれつ
Romaji: gekiretsu
violence; vehemence; fury; fervour
In Japanese, severity is 激烈, read げきれつ (gekiretsu).
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 violence; vehemence; fury; fervour; fervor; severity
Written forms: 激烈、劇烈. Readings: げきれつ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “severity”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 厳しさ | きびしさ kibishisa | severity; strictness; intensity |
| 酷烈 | こくれつ kokuretsu | severity |
| 厳酷 | げんこく genkoku | severity; rigor; rigour |
| 重症度 | じゅうしょうど juushoudo | severity (of an illness) |
| 秋霜烈日 | しゅうそうれつじつ shuusouretsujitsu | harshness; severity |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刺激 | しげき shigeki | stimulus; stimulation; irritation (esp. of the body, e.g. skin, eyes) |
| 急激 | きゅうげき kyuugeki | sudden; abrupt; rapid |
| 激しい | はげしい hageshii | violent; furious; tempestuous |
| 感激 | かんげき kangeki | deep emotion; impression; inspiration |
| 過激 | かげき kageki | extreme (measure, idea, etc.); radical; violent (language) |
| 激励 | げきれい gekirei | encouragement; spurring (on); cheering (on) |
| 強烈 | きょうれつ kyouretsu | strong; intense; severe |
| 猛烈 | もうれつ mouretsu | fierce; intense; severe |
See also: Chinese symbol for “severity”.
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.