King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “tragedy”

Romaji: higeki
tragedy; tragic drama; tragic play

In Japanese, tragedy is , read (higeki).

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 tragedy; tragic drama; tragic play
  2. n tragedy; calamity; disaster

Kanji and stroke order

grieve, sad, deplore
on: ヒ
kun: かな.しい、かな.しむ
12 strokes · JLPT 2
drama, play
on: ゲキ
15 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “tragedy”

WordReadingMeaning
さんげき sangekitragedy; tragic event
さんじ sanjidisaster; tragedy; tragic incident
ドラマ doramadrama; dramatic incident; spectacle
トラジディー torajidiitragedy
トラジェディー torajediitragedy

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
かなしみ kanashimisadness; sorrow; grief
ひさん hisandisastrous; tragic; miserable
ひめい himeishriek; scream
かなしい kanashiisad; miserable; unhappy
ひかん hikanpessimism; (taking a) gloomy view; discouragement
げきじょう gekijoutheatre; theater; playhouse
えんげき engekidrama; theatre; theater
げきてき gekitekidramatic; exciting; touching

See also: Chinese symbol for “tragedy”.

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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