斬 — kanji meaning “beheading”
斬
beheading, kill, murder
- Meanings
- beheading, kill, murder
- On'yomi
- ザン (zan)、サン (san)、セン (sen)、ゼン (zen)
- Kun'yomi
- き.る
- Strokes
- 11
- School grade
- 8
- Newspaper frequency
- #2132 of 2,500
- Classical radical
- 69
- Chinese reading
- zhǎn — Chinese character page
Words with 斬
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 斬新 | ざんしん zanshin | novel; original; new |
| 斬る | きる kiru | to kill (a human) using a blade (sword, machete, knife, etc.); to slice (off); to lop (off) |
| 斬首 | ざんしゅ zanshu | decapitation |
| 辻斬り | つじぎり tsujigiri | attacking a passerby with a sword (to test its sharpness or one's skill); samurai who tries out his sword on a passerby |
| 斬殺 | ざんさつ zansatsu | killing with a sword (knife, dagger, etc.); slaying; putting to the sword |
| 試し斬り | ためしぎり tameshigiri | trying out a new sword or blade (originally on someone, but now on soaked straw targets) |
| 袈裟斬り | けさぎり kesagiri | slashing (someone) with a sword diagonally from the shoulder |
| 斬奸状 | ざんかんじょう zankanjou | letter explaining the reasons for cutting down an alleged villain; assassin's written vindication of his killing |
| 斬罪 | ざんざい zanzai | (execution by) decapitation |
| 人斬り | ひときり hitokiri | assassination; assassin |
| 斬り合い | きりあい kiriai | crossing swords; fighting with swords; cutting each other (in fighting) |
| なで斬り | なでぎり nadegiri | slashing (with the blade pressed against the object) |
Data: KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.