Sections
斬るKiru: what it means in anime
きる · kiru
to kill using a blade; to slice; to lop
Kiru (斬る) means "to cut down" or "to slash", specifically with a sword or blade. It is the kanji you see whenever a samurai or demon slayer cuts an enemy.
Updated November 2, 2026
Where you hear it
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俺の仕事は 鬼を斬ることだ
Demon SlayerEpisode 1 · 16 lines in episodes 1–3 -
神器さえあれば 俺は何でも斬れる
NoragamiEpisode 2 · 7 lines in episodes 1–3
From the Japanese subtitles · how we count
Usage and nuance
Demon Slayer is built on it: 俺の仕事は鬼を斬ることだ, "my job is to cut down demons". In Noragami, Yato boasts that with a Regalia 俺は何でも斬れる, "I can cut anything".
The everyday "to cut" is 切る, pronounced the same. Writers pick 斬る when the cutting is done with a sword and is meant to kill, so the kanji alone tells you it is a fight scene.
Do not mix it up with 着る (kiru, to wear). The cutting verbs say 斬った and 切った in the past, while "wore" is 着た.
Hear 斬る in Demon Slayer16 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account