Meaning
The kanji 犠 means sacrifice — specifically, a living creature offered in a religious ritual, or more broadly, anything given up for a higher purpose. In ancient Chinese and Japanese traditions, cattle were slaughtered and presented to gods or ancestral spirits during important ceremonies. This offering was considered among the highest forms of devotion, and 犠 was created to name that sacred, solemn act.
Two components build the character: 牛 (ushi), meaning cow or ox, on the left as the radical; 義 (gi), meaning righteousness or justice, on the right. A cow — the animal most closely tied to ancient rites — offered in the spirit of righteousness. True sacrifice, this character implies, is not mere loss but a purposeful offering in service of something greater.
In modern Japanese, 犠 is almost never used alone. Its main appearance is in compound words, especially 犠牲 (ぎせい). That word has traveled far from its ritual origins. Today it covers war casualties, disaster victims, and personal trade-offs made for the greater good. The ritual weight still echoes through it.
The character has 17 strokes and sits at the secondary school (中学校) level of Jōyō kanji. Its radical is 牛 (cow, ox). Though it appears less often than everyday kanji, 犠 turns up regularly in news articles, literature, and formal writing — an essential character for anyone pushing toward fluency at JLPT N1.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The on'yomi reading of 犠 is ギ (gi). In practice, this is the only reading you will use in modern Japanese. It comes from the ancient Chinese pronunciation and appears exclusively in Sino-Japanese vocabulary. Every compound with 犠 that you encounter in contemporary Japanese uses this reading.
Key compounds using the ギ reading:
- 犠牲 (gisei) — sacrifice; victim; casualty
- 犠牲者 (giseisha) — victim; casualty; one who is sacrificed
- 犠打 (gida) — sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit in baseball, where a batter intentionally makes an out to advance a teammate
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi reading of 犠 is にえ (nie). It is rare — found mainly in classical texts, ancient poetry, or historical documents describing ritual offerings to the gods. Modern speech and writing virtually never use it. N1 learners should recognize it for classical Japanese (古文) and texts on ancient Shinto or Buddhist practices.
- 犠 (nie) — a ritual animal offering; a creature sacrificed in a sacred ceremony (classical/literary usage)
- 生贄 (ikenie) — a living sacrifice; while this compound uses 贄 rather than 犠, the にえ sound connects both characters to the same ancient concept of ritual offering
Common Words & Compounds
犠 appears in a small set of compounds, but those words carry real weight and come up often in serious reading. Below are the most important, organized by theme.
Core sacrifice and victim vocabulary:
- 犠牲 (gisei) — sacrifice; victim; casualty; the central compound for this kanji
- 犠牲者 (giseisha) — victim; casualty; a person who is sacrificed or harmed
- 自己犠牲 (jiko gisei) — self-sacrifice; giving up one's own interests for others
- 人身犠牲 (jinshin gisei) — human sacrifice; the offering of a human life in a ritual context
Expressions and set phrases:
- 犠牲になる (gisei ni naru) — to become a victim; to be sacrificed; to fall prey to something
- 犠牲を払う (gisei wo harau) — to pay a price; to make a sacrifice in order to achieve a goal
- 犠牲にする (gisei ni suru) — to sacrifice something or someone; to offer up as a sacrifice
- 犠牲的 (giseiteki) — self-sacrificing; characterized by devotion and willingness to give up personal gain
Sports terminology:
- 犠打 (gida) — sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit in baseball
- 犠牲フライ (gisei furai) — sacrifice fly in baseball; a fly ball that scores a runner while the batter is put out
Rare and literary usage:
- 犠牛 (gigyū) — a sacrificial ox; an ox offered in an ancient ritual (historical and literary term)
- 犠 (nie) — a ritual animal offering (classical usage only)
Example Sentences
彼は家族のために犠牲になった。
Kare wa kazoku no tame ni gisei ni natta.
He sacrificed himself for his family.
地震の犠牲者は千人を超えた。
Jishin no giseisha wa sen-nin wo koeta.
The number of earthquake victims exceeded one thousand.
彼女は子供たちのために自己犠牲の精神で働いた。
Kanojo wa kodomotachi no tame ni jiko gisei no seishin de hataraita.
She worked with a spirit of self-sacrifice for the children.
その兵士たちは国のために命を犠牲にした。
Sono heishi-tachi wa kuni no tame ni inochi wo gisei ni shita.
Those soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country.
成功するためには、ある程度の犠牲が必要だ。
Seikō suru tame ni wa, aru teido no gisei ga hitsuyō da.
Some degree of sacrifice is necessary to succeed.
彼は犠打で走者を進塁させた。
Kare wa gida de sōsha wo shinrui saseta.
He advanced the runner with a sacrifice bunt.
多くの人が戦争の犠牲になった。
Ōku no hito ga sensō no gisei ni natta.
Many people fell victim to the war.
彼は友人を助けるために自分の時間を犠牲にした。
Kare wa yūjin wo tasukeru tame ni jibun no jikan wo gisei ni shita.
He gave up his own time to help a friend.
環境破壊の犠牲になる動物が増えている。
Kankyō hakai no gisei ni naru dōbutsu ga fuete iru.
More and more animals are falling victim to environmental destruction.
プロジェクトを完成させるために、睡眠を犠牲にしなければならなかった。
Purojekuto wo kansei saseru tame ni, suimin wo gisei ni shinakereba naranakatta.
To finish the project, I had no choice but to sacrifice sleep.
Memory Tip
犠 breaks into two parts: 牛 (cow) on the left and 義 (righteousness) on the right. Picture an ancient shrine ceremony. Priests stand before an altar, choosing their offering carefully. Not just any animal — only the finest, most worthy beast. This is the righteous cow (義しい牛) given as sacrifice. When you see 犠, that image anchors the meaning. Better still, the ギ reading comes straight from 義, so once you know both parts, meaning and pronunciation fall into place together.