Japanese symbol for “sinking”
沈没
ちんぼつ
Romaji: chinbotsu
sinking; foundering; going down; submersion
In Japanese, sinking is 沈没, read ちんぼつ (chinbotsu).
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, vi, vs sinking; foundering; going down; submersion
- n, vi, vs getting dead drunk
- n, vi, vs having too much fun (esp. in a red-light district, etc.) and missing work or neglecting one's duties
- n, vi, vs staying in one place for a long time
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “sinking”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 撃沈 | げきちん gekichin | (attacking and) sinking (a ship); sending (a ship) to the bottom |
| 沈下 | ちんか chinka | sinking; subsidence |
| 失墜 | しっつい shittsui | abasement; fall; forfeiture |
| 陥落 | かんらく kanraku | subsidence; sinking; cave-in |
| 陥没 | かんぼつ kanbotsu | cave-in; collapse; sinking |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 沈黙 | ちんもく chinmoku | silence; being silent; quiet |
| 沈む | しずむ shizumu | to sink; to go under; to submerge |
| 沈静 | ちんせい chinsei | settling down; quieting down; cooling down |
| 撃沈 | げきちん gekichin | (attacking and) sinking (a ship); sending (a ship) to the bottom |
| 沈着 | ちんちゃく chinchaku | composure; calmness; self-possession |
| 没頭 | ぼっとう bottou | immersing oneself in; being absorbed in; devoting oneself to |
| 没落 | ぼつらく botsuraku | ruin; fall; collapse |
| 没収 | ぼっしゅう bosshuu | seizure; confiscation; impounding |
See also: Chinese symbol for “sinking”.
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.