King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “sobbing”

Romaji: oetsu
sobbing; weeping; fit of crying

In Japanese, sobbing is , read (oetsu).

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

  1. n, vi, vs sobbing; weeping; fit of crying

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

weep, ah, alas
on: ウ、オ
kun: ああ
13 strokes
throat, choked, smothered
on: イン、エン、エツ
kun: むせ.ぶ、むせ.る、のど、の.む
9 strokes

Other Japanese words for “sobbing”

WordReadingMeaning
すすりなき susurinakisobbing; sob; weeping
メソメソ mesomesosobbing; weeping; whimpering
むせびなき musebinakisobbing
しくしく shikushikuweeping; sobbing; softly (crying)
うきね ukinesobbing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ああ aaah!; oh!; alas!
ああああ aaaaaaah!; oooh!; oh no!
いんとう intoupharynx
いんこう inkouthroat
じびいんこう jibiinkouear, nose, and throat
むせぶ musebuto be choked; to be stifled; to be smothered
いんとうえん intouenpharyngitis; sore throat

See also: Chinese symbol for “sobbing”.

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.

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