JLPT N1 · 11 strokes
Kanji 惨: "wretched, disaster, cruelty"
The kanji 惨 means "wretched, disaster, cruelty, harsh". It is written with 11 strokes and belongs to JLPT level N1, read サン, ザン in on'yomi and みじ.め, いた.む, むご.い in kun'yomi.
Stroke order
Strokes are written in the order of the numbers. The order is not decorative: it is what gives the character its balance, and it is also how handwriting search works in Japanese dictionaries.
Readings
On'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading)
サンザン
Kun'yomi (native Japanese reading)
みじ.めいた.むむご.い
In a kun'yomi reading, the dot separates the kanji from its okurigana: かた.る is read かたる and written 語る. A hyphen marks a bound position, like -び in 日.
At a glance
| Meaning | wretched, disaster, cruelty, harsh |
|---|---|
| Strokes | 11 |
| JLPT level | N1 |
| Taught in Japan | secondary school |
| Frequency rank | 1463 of 2,501 |
Common words with 惨
The most frequent words using this kanji, most common first, with furigana readings. Click one to open it in the reader.
- 惨めmiserable; wretched; unhappy; sad
- 悲惨disastrous; tragic; miserable; wretched
- 惨状disastrous scene; terrible spectacle
- 凄惨ghastly; gruesome; appalling; lurid
- 惨劇tragedy; tragic event
- 大惨事great disaster; catastrophe; train wreck
- 惨いcruel; merciless; pitiless; brutal · tragic; horrible; terrible; dreadful
- 惨殺slaughter; massacre
- 惨敗ignominious defeat; crushing failure; utterly beaten; overwhelming defeat
- 陰惨sadness and gloom
- 惨事disaster; tragedy; tragic incident; horrible accident
- 惨憺miserable; pitiful; tragic; wretched · painstaking
Keep going
Read real Japanese, not lists
A kanji list does not teach you to read. KanjiYome puts furigana and a dictionary on any Japanese text, offline, and turns the words you meet into review cards.