Chinese

Noun

死神

1. god of death; Grim Reaper
2. (figuratively) death

Japanese

Etymology

Compound of 死に ‎(shini, “dying”, the 連用形 ‎(ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 死ぬ shinu, “to die”) +‎ 神 ‎(kami, “god, spirit”) .^[1][2]The kami changes to gami as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) しにがみ [shìnígámí] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ɕĩniɡ̃a̠mi]

Alternative forms

• 死に神

Noun

死神 ‎(hiragana しにがみ, romaji shinigami)

1. a god or spirit who leads humans toward their death
2. God of Death, Grim Reaper, Soul Reaper, the angel of death, Death personified
3. (tarot): Death, the thirteenth trump or major arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks

Coordinate terms

• タロット ‎(tarotto): the tarot

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

Korean

Noun

死神 • ‎(sasin) ‎(hangeul 사신)

1. Hanja form^? of 사신, “Death (personified), God of Death, Grim Reaper”.

Vietnamese

Noun

死神

1. Hán tự form of tử thần, “Death (personified), God of Death, Grim Reaper”