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Kanji for Immortal

The kanji most commonly used for "Immortal" is 仙.

Kanji that mean Immortal

  • hermit, immortal, wizard

    Onyomi: sen, sento 5 strokes Jōyō

仙 is the immortal of East Asian tradition — the Taoist sage who has left the world for the mountains and does not die. The character says exactly that: the person radical 亻 beside 山, mountain. A 仙人 (sennin) is such a being: a mountain hermit with white brows, unworldly powers, and no interest in human affairs.

Because of that figure, 仙 shades into “otherworldly, transcendent” in compounds: 仙境 is an enchanted land, 詩仙 a poet of superhuman gift, 水仙 the narcissus — the “water immortal”. The city of Sendai writes its name 仙台 with it.

Note what 仙 is not: it is not the English adjective “immortal” as in undying fame. For that, Japanese uses 不滅 (indestructible) or 不死 (deathless) — two-character words built on negation. 仙 is the person, not the property.

Words using Immortal kanji

Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.

  • 仙台 せんだい Listen Sendai (city in Miyagi)

Before you use Immortal kanji

仙 reads as "hermit sage", not as "I will never die". If you want the idea of something undying — love, spirit, legacy — the words 不滅 or 不死 carry it unambiguously. Choose 仙 only if the Taoist mountain-immortal is the image you actually want; on its own it is safe, just more whimsical than grand.

Other meanings to explore

See all kanji by meaning →

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