牲 means “sacrifice, offering”

せい · sei

Also: animal sacrifice

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

セイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 9 strokes

The story

An ox (牛) given up alive (生): a living offering laid on the altar. 牲 is found almost only in 犠牲, sacrifice, and in news reports the 犠牲者 are the victims of a disaster, a war or an accident.

Used in 犠牲 (gisei, sacrifice) and 犠牲者 (giseisha, victims)

More from Rites & Omens

• 縁 bond
• 慶 celebration
• 盆 Obon
• 凶 bad luck
• 宴 banquet
• 賓 honored guest
• 崇 revere
• 禍 calamity
• 厄 misfortune
• 詣 visit a shrine
• 吉 good luck
• 儀 ceremony

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.