亡 means “pass away, perish, the late”

なくなる · nakunaru

Also: deceased, dying

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ない, なき-, ほろびる, ほろぶ, ほろぼす

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ボウ, モウ

JLPT N3 · Taught in grade 6 · 3 strokes

The story

Picture someone ducking round a corner and slipping out of sight: a person no longer here. 亡くなる is the gentle way to say "pass away", and 亡 hides inside 忘 (forget) and 忙 (busy): a heart that has lost something.

Used in 亡くなる (nakunaru, to pass away), 死亡 (shibou, death), and 亡命 (boumei, political exile)

More from Life & Breath

• 老 old age
• 抱 hug
• 息 breath
• 吸 inhale
• 祖 ancestor
• 腹 belly
• 眠 sleep
• 活 lively
• 歳 age
• 身 body
• 若 young
• 命 life

Learn 亡 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

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