Japanese symbol for “suffering”
被災
ひさい
Romaji: hisai
suffering (from a disaster); being hit (by an earthquake, typhoon, etc.); falling victim (to)
In Japanese, suffering is 被災, read ひさい (hisai).
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 suffering (from a disaster); being hit (by an earthquake, typhoon, etc.); falling victim (to)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “suffering”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 苦しみ | くるしみ kurushimi | pain; anguish; distress |
| 苦痛 | くつう kutsuu | pain; agony; suffering |
| 苦難 | くなん kunan | suffering; distress; hardship |
| 苦悩 | くのう kunou | (mental) agony; anguish; suffering |
| 難渋 | なんじゅう nanjuu | suffering; distress; difficulty |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 被害 | ひがい higai | (suffering) damage; injury; harm |
| 被告 | ひこく hikoku | defendant; the accused |
| 被爆 | ひばく hibaku | being bombed |
| 被写体 | ひしゃたい hishatai | (photographic) subject |
| 被る | かぶる kaburu | to put on (one's head); to wear; to have on |
| 災害 | さいがい saigai | calamity; disaster; misfortune |
| 火災 | かさい kasai | conflagration; fire |
| 防災 | ぼうさい bousai | disaster preparedness; prevention of damage resulting from a natural disaster; protection against disaster |
See also: Chinese symbol for “suffering”.
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.