Kimetsu No Yaiba does not mean Demon Slayer – 鬼滅の刃
Kimetsu no Yaiba 鬼滅の刃 also known as Demon Slayer is a Japanese Manga and Anime series. To sum up the series, it is about a teenager, Tanjiro Kamado who fights zombie-like creatures called Oni who used to be human. His sister, Nezuko, became one of these Oni, and Tanjiro is trying to find a way to turn her human again.
That’s the basic story. So what does Kimetsu no Yaiba mean? Demon Slayer is actually pretty close. A closer translation though would be The demon-eradication Blade, Oni eliminating sword, or something close. Let’s go ahead and break down the name word-by-word.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba | Official Manga Trailer | VIZ
Table of Contents
What does Kimetsu no Yaiba mean?
The subtext of Kimetsu no Yaiba is Demon Slayer. This is not really a translation though of the title of the Anime. It is more of a close approximation that sounds more eloquent in English.
The title is made up of the following three words:
- 鬼滅 (kimetsu)
- の (no)
- 刃 (yaiba)
鬼滅 (kimetsu)
The first word, 鬼滅 is actually not a real word. It was made up for the series by putting together two Kanji. So, let’s break the word down more.
鬼
The first character 鬼 is pronounced ki. This character also is how you write oni in Japanese. The same word for the zombies in the story. In Japan though, an oni is actually a specific kind of creature like an ogre or demon in Japanese folklore.
滅
滅 (metsu) is the second character and can mean to eliminate, eradicate or destroy. If we put the two Kanji together we get the oni-eradicator or demon-eradicator. Pretty much the same idea as a Demon Slayer.
の (no)
の is a Japanese particle that connects words together. We can translate this from Japanese to English as the word, of.
刃 (yaiba)
Finally, 刃 (yaiba) is the word for sword-blade. Put it all together and you get The Blade of the Demon Destroyer. Or The demon-eradication Blade. Something like that. So it translates in its intention to mean a demon slayer. But, in English Demon Slayer sounds more like the person doing the slaying, which Kimetsu no yaiba is closer in meaning to the blade doing the slaying.
