Japanese symbol for “untraceable”

消息不明

しょうそくふめい

Romaji: shousokufumei

untraceable; long lost; one's whereabouts being unknown

In Japanese, untraceable is 消息不明, read しょうそくふめい (shousokufumei).

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 untraceable; long lost; one's whereabouts being unknown

Kanji and stroke order

消

extinguish, blow out, turn off

on: ショウ
kun: き.える、け.す

10 strokes · JLPT 2

息

breath, respiration, son

on: ソク
kun: いき

10 strokes · JLPT 2

不

negative, non-, bad

on: フ、ブ

4 strokes · JLPT 3

明

bright, light

on: メイ、ミョウ、ミン
kun: あ.かり、あか.るい、あか.るむ、あか.らむ

8 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
消費	しょうひ shouhi	consumption; expenditure; spending
解消	かいしょう kaishou	cancellation; liquidation; resolution
消滅	しょうめつ shoumetsu	extinction; extinguishment; disappearance
消防	しょうぼう shoubou	fire fighting
消化	しょうか shouka	digestion (of food)
取り消し	とりけし torikeshi	cancellation; withdrawal; abolition
息子	むすこ musuko	son
消息	しょうそく shousoku	news (from someone); letter; contact
不明	ふめい fumei	unclear; obscure; indistinct
説明	せつめい setsumei	explanation; exposition; description

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.