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Inspired by [this
question](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/13856/what-is-up-with-
tsukihi-and-karens-boyfriends-names) asking about the Fire Sisters'
boyfriends' ridiculous names, here's another question about the bizarre names
that Nisio Isin assigns his characters.

I'm trying to find any hidden meanings in the name "Zerozaki Hitoshiki (零崎
人識)" that relate to his character or part in the story. This character is from
the [Zaregoto
series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaregoto_Series#Characters). The
character is a knife-wielding serial killer whom the narrator meets in the
second novel and describes as his own mirror image. His name is so ridiculous
that even other characters in the book find it ridiculous. I looked up the
kanji and the first kanji can be read as "rei", which has a meaning related to
"zero". The second kanji is the same kanji that appears in common spellings of
the names "Yamazaki" and "Kanzaki". The rest of it just puzzles me. I'm
wondering if there are more hidden meanings that relate in some way to his
personality or his part in the story.


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japanese-language zaregoto
What's up with the name "Zerozaki Hitoshiki"?


As @ʞɹɐzǝɹ mentions, the kanji [零](http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E9%9B%B6)
can be read as ぜろ ("zero") and has the meaning "null" or "cipher", as well as
"overflow" (as in the word こぼれる).
[崎](http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E5%B4%8E) can be read as さき ("saki") which
can become "zaki" under [rendaku](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendaku). It's
the same kanji we see in common spellings of the names "Yamazaki" and
"Kanzaki" (山崎 and 神崎). I believe this might be to make the word sound more
like a real name, like adding Mc- or -son to English words ("Grumpy
McSnarlson").

人識 ("Hitoshiki"), the character's given name, is written with the kanji for
"person" ( _hito_ ) and ["know" (識)](http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E8%AD%98)
(also seen in the word _shiru_ ). Again, I believe the 識 character is just to
make the name sound more like a name. The fact that he kills people may lend
some significance to the 人 kanji.


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I'm not sure about the Zerozaki part. But looking at just the pronunciation,
"shi" in Hitoshiki can also be rendered as 死｛し｝ meaning "death", and as
Torisuda mentions, "hito" means person, so together they make "person's
death". Furthermore, Hitoshi is an actual name, but Hitoshiki is not and
"shiki" can be rendered as 死期｛しき｝ which means "time of death".


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