亡 — “to die / to perish” in Japanese

Grade 6ぼう, もう, な

Radical ⼇ · radical 8 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to die / to perish” in Japanese is 亡, read bou, mou, na (ぼう, もう, な). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 死亡 (death).

Try it now

What does 亡 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	亡
Meaning	to die / to perish
Readings	ぼう, もう, な
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	死亡 (death)

How to read 亡

亡 is read bou (ぼう) or mou (もう) or na (な) depending on the word.

Words with 亡

死亡
滅亡

Learn 亡 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 亡

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28