Japanese symbol for “digestion”
消化
しょうか
Romaji: shouka
digestion (of food)
In Japanese, digestion is 消化, read しょうか (shouka).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, vs, vt digestion (of food)
- n, vs, vt digestion (of information); assimilation; thorough understanding
- n, vs, vt consumption; absorption; using up; meeting (e.g. a quota); completion
- n, vi, vs losing one's form and turning into something else
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “digestion”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 熟れ | こなれ konare | digestion; digestibility |
| 咀嚼 | そしゃく soshaku | digestion (e.g. of words); assimilation; comprehension |
| 蒸解 | じょうかい joukai | cooking (of wood to produce pulp in paper production); digestion |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 消費 | しょうひ shouhi | consumption; expenditure; spending |
| 解消 | かいしょう kaishou | cancellation; liquidation; resolution |
| 消滅 | しょうめつ shoumetsu | extinction; extinguishment; disappearance |
| 消防 | しょうぼう shoubou | fire fighting |
| 取り消し | とりけし torikeshi | cancellation; withdrawal; abolition |
| 文化 | ぶんか bunka | culture; civilization; civilisation |
| 変化 | へんか henka | change; variation; alteration |
| 強化 | きょうか kyouka | strengthening; intensifying; reinforcement |
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.