Japanese symbol for “terrified”
慄然
りつぜん
Romaji: ritsuzen
terrified; horrified; trembling with fear
In Japanese, terrified is 慄然, read りつぜん (ritsuzen).
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 terrified; horrified; trembling with fear
Written forms: 慄然、りつ然. Readings: りつぜん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “terrified”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 恟然 | きょうぜん kyouzen | terrified; panicked; horrified |
| 悚然 | しょうぜん shouzen | terrified; horrified |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 戦慄 | せんりつ senritsu | shudder; shiver; trembling with fear |
| 戦慄く | わななく wananaku | to tremble; to shiver; to shake |
| 戦々慄々 | せんせんりつりつ sensenritsuritsu | trembling with fear; filled with trepidation |
| 慄き | おののき ononoki | shudder; shiver; agitation |
| 震慄 | しんりつ shinritsu | tremble; shudder; quiver |
| 自然 | しぜん shizen | nature |
| 当然 | とうぜん touzen | natural; right; proper |
| 全然 | ぜんぜん zenzen | (not) at all; (not) in the slightest |
See also: Chinese symbol for “terrified”.
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.