King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “stifle”

Romaji: korosu
to kill; to slay; to murder; to slaughter

In Japanese, stifle is , read (korosu).

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. v5s, vt to kill; to slay; to murder; to slaughter
  2. v5s, vt to suppress; to block; to hamper; to destroy (e.g. talent); to eliminate (e.g. an odour); to spoil (e.g. a flavour)
  3. v5s, vt to suppress (a voice, feelings, etc.); to hold back; to stifle (a yawn, laugh, etc.); to hold (one's breath)
  4. v5s, vt to put out (a runner) (baseb)
  5. v5s, vt to pawn; to put in hock

Kanji and stroke order

kill, murder, butcher
on: サツ、サイ、セツ
kun: ころ.す、-ごろ.し、そ.ぐ、あや.める
10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “stifle”

WordReadingMeaning
のみこむ nomikomuto swallow (one's words); to suppress (a yawn, tears, etc.); to stifle
かみころす kamikorosuto suppress (a smile, yawn, etc.); to stifle
もみけす momikesuto hush up; to cover up; to stifle
おしころす oshikorosuto suppress (a laugh, one's anger, etc.); to stifle; to subdue (one's voice)
みずをかける mizuokakeruto hinder; to hamper; to stifle

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さつじん satsujinmurder; homicide; manslaughter
じさつ jisatsusuicide
あんさつ ansatsuassassination
ぎゃくさつ gyakusatsuslaughter; massacre
ころし koroshimurder; killing; murderer

See also: Chinese symbol for “stifle”.

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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