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失踪 (しっそう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

失しっ踪そう

し

っ

そ

う

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

disappearance; going missing; absconding

Often used for a person vanishing without explanation, especially in legal, police, or news contexts. Can imply deliberate flight.

彼かれは突とつ然ぜん失しっ踪そうした。
He suddenly disappeared.
失しっ踪そう事じ件けんが増ふえて

いる

。

Missing-person cases are increasing.

Written forms

失しっ踪そうUsage98%
Standard kanji spelling; used in legal and news contexts.
失しっそうUsage2%
search-only kanji form
Search-only form; not a standard spelling.

Kanji

失lose, error, fault
踪remains, clue, footprint

Similar words

行方ゆくえ不ふ明めい
行方不明 is more neutral and simply means 'whereabouts unknown', while 失踪 often implies a deliberate or suspicious disappearance.
蒸じょう発はつ
蒸発 is a more colloquial and dramatic term for vanishing, literally 'evaporation', often used for people who cut all ties.

Etymology

Compound of 失 (loss, disappearance) and 踪 (footprint, trace). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of vanishing without a trace.