Japanese symbol for “somber”
暗澹
あんたん
Romaji: antan
dark; gloomy; somber; depressing
In Japanese, somber is 暗澹, read あんたん (antan).
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-t, adv-to dark; gloomy; somber; depressing
Written forms: 暗澹、暗たん、暗憺. Readings: あんたん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “somber”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 物憂げ | ものうげ monouge | somber; sombre; gloomy |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 暗殺 | あんさつ ansatsu | assassination |
| 真っ暗 | まっくら makkura | pitch-dark; pitch-black; completely dark |
| 暗号 | あんごう angou | code; password; cipher |
| 暗い | くらい kurai | dark; gloomy; murky |
| 暗黙 | あんもく anmoku | tacit; unspoken; implicit |
| 暗黒 | あんこく ankoku | darkness |
See also: Chinese symbol for “somber”.
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.