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One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.
The kanji most commonly used for "Immortal" is 仙.
仙
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.
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
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.
What is Onyomi?
Onyomi, also known as the "Sino-Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is derived from the original Chinese pronunciation.
What is Kunyomi?
Kunyomi, also known as the "native Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is based on the native Japanese pronunciation. Kunyomi readings are often used when a kanji character stands alone or is followed by hiragana, as in verbs and adjectives. Mastering both kunyomi and onyomi is crucial for understanding and using kanji effectively in the Japanese language.
What is Radical?
A radical, also known as "bushu" in Japanese, is a fundamental component of kanji characters. Radicals are the building blocks of kanji and are used to categorize and organize them in dictionaries. There are 214 traditional radicals, each with its own meaning, which often provides a clue to the meaning of the kanji character it forms.
What is strokes?
Stroke count, or "kakusuu" in Japanese, refers to the number of individual brushstrokes required to write a kanji character. Each kanji has a specific stroke order and stroke count, which are essential for writing the character correctly and legibly. Understanding and following the correct stroke order not only ensures proper balance and aesthetics but also makes writing more efficient and fluid.