Kanji for Blood: 血 (chi, ketsu), Blood Types and Everyday Words

血 in four words: from a cut finger to your blood type

血 means blood. It is a common kanji in everyday life even if you never set foot in a hospital, because it appears on health forms, in first-aid situations and in small talk. Start with these four words: the kanji itself, the word for blood type, the formal word for bleeding, and the word for a nosebleed.

Notice the readings. Chi is the native Japanese word, and it changes to ji in hanaji. Ketsu is the reading used in longer, more technical words.

How 血 is read and built

血 has six strokes. It is usually explained as 皿 (sara, a dish or bowl) with a short stroke on top, often described as a drop of blood in a vessel used for offerings in ancient rituals. Whatever its exact origin, the picture of a drop above a dish is an easy way to remember it.

The readings follow the usual pattern. Alone, or in native Japanese words, say chi. In compounds borrowed from Chinese, say ketsu, which often shortens to ket- or kek- before a k, s or t sound.

Clinic, first aid and everyday words with 血

These are the 血 words you are most likely to hear at a clinic, during a health check or in the news. Most use the reading ketsu. If you live in Japan, the annual health check, 健康診断 (kenkō shindan), usually includes a blood test, so the clinic words in this list are worth learning before you go.

Hinketsu is medically anaemia, but in everyday conversation people also use it for a sudden dizzy, faint spell, for example during a long morning assembly: hinketsu de taoreta, she fainted. Ketsuatsu comes up at every check-up, along with takai (high) and hikui (low). And chidarake, covered in blood, is the kind of word you hear in dramatic stories, or from a child with a scraped knee who is enjoying the attention.

Chi or ketsueki: which word for blood?

Japanese has two everyday words for blood, and they are not used in the same places. 血 (chi) is short, spoken and personal: your own blood when you cut yourself, a nosebleed, a scratch. 血液 (ketsueki) is formal and scientific: blood as a substance to test, store or measure.

Choosing the wrong one does not cause misunderstandings, but it changes the tone. Telling a friend ketsueki ga deta when you cut your finger sounds like a medical report. A doctor writing chi on a test result would sound too casual.

Blood-type small talk: what to say when someone asks

Sooner or later, someone in Japan may ask you nani-gata, what type are you? The question refers to blood type. A popular belief links each type with a personality, for example that type A people are careful and type O people are easygoing. There is no scientific support for this, and many people treat it as a light game, like star signs. Others find it tiresome, and judging people by it is widely seen as unfair, so keep it playful.

You can answer, joke, or simply say you do not know. Many people outside Japan never learn their blood type, and Japanese friends are often surprised by this.

Types are said with English letters: ēgata, bīgata, ōgata and ēbīgata for A, B, O and AB. In a job interview or a formal setting, this topic would be out of place, and it is best to avoid asking colleagues about it at work.

Dialogue: a blood test at the clinic

Here is a polite exchange during a blood test, the kind you might have at an annual health check. The nurse speaks politely and kindly; you answer politely too. Saying that you are a little nervous is perfectly normal, and nurses will often let you lie down if you tend to feel faint.

Idioms: when your blood stirs, boils or drains away

Japanese uses 血 in several vivid idioms about excitement, family and character. They are common in conversation, TV and manga, and the first one is a lovely phrase to use yourself.

Chi ga sawagu, my blood stirs, describes the urge to join in when you hear something you love: festival drums, a crowd chanting at a stadium, or the opening notes of a favourite song. Matsuri no taiko o kiku to chi ga sawagu, when I hear festival drums my blood starts racing, is a natural thing to say. Nekketsu describes an intensely passionate person, often a coach or teacher in a sports drama, and is mostly positive.

Chi mo namida mo nai, with neither blood nor tears, is a strong criticism of someone who shows no mercy, so be careful with it. Chi ga tsunagatte inai, not related by blood, often appears in stories about step-families and adoption, usually to say that love matters more than blood.

血 in tattoos and designs, and the 皿 trap

Blood is a strong image. As a single kanji, 血 can look like a horror film title or a warning, so think about what you want to say before using it in a tattoo, logo or game title.

• A lone 血 reads simply as blood. Many Japanese readers will find it gory or aggressive rather than deep.
• For family and ancestry, 絆 (kizuna, bond) or 家族 (kazoku, family) usually express the idea better than a word with blood in it.
• For passion and fighting spirit, 熱血 (nekketsu) is positive and familiar from sports stories.
• Chinese and Japanese both use 血, but some compounds differ: blood type is 血液型 in Japanese and 血型 in Chinese. Check which language you are writing in.
• Have a native speaker check the characters and the style before you get inked, and watch the look-alike below.

The look-alike to watch is 皿, a dish. It is 血 without the short stroke on top, and leaving that stroke off is the most common mistake with this kanji. The other common mistakes are reading 出血 as shutsuketsu (it is shukketsu) and saying ketsueki in casual situations where chi sounds natural.

Rehearse the clinic words with Mocchi before your check-up

A health check is easier when the words are already familiar. Sign in and ask Mocchi: Teach me the Japanese I need for a blood test, then quiz me on it. Mocchi explains words like saiketsu, ketsuatsu and hinketsu, quizzes you, and remembers which ones you miss so it can bring them back in a /review before the day.

Then say it aloud. In AI Sensei, choose Yamada-sensei and ask for a clinic nurse roleplay, spoken slowly at first. Say that you get nervous, answer questions about your arm, and ask when the results will be ready. The session report afterwards shows which phrases came out naturally and which need another try.