Japanese symbol for “distilling”

酒造

しゅぞう

Romaji: shuzou

brewing (sake); distilling (e.g. whisky)

In Japanese, distilling is 酒造, read しゅぞう (shuzou).

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 brewing (sake); distilling (e.g. whisky)

Kanji and stroke order

酒

sake, alcohol

on: シュ
kun: さけ、さか-

10 strokes · JLPT 2

造

create, make, structure

on: ゾウ
kun: つく.る、つく.り、-づく.り

10 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
居酒屋	いざかや izakaya	izakaya; tavern, bar, etc. that also serves various dishes and snacks
酒屋	さかや sakaya	liquor store; wine shop; bottle shop
飲酒	いんしゅ inshu	drinking alcohol
禁酒	きんしゅ kinshu	abstinence from alcohol; temperance
酒場	さかば sakaba	bar; pub; tavern
梅酒	うめしゅ umeshu	ume liqueur; Japanese plum brandy; unripe ume infused in liquor (esp. shōchū) with added sugar
構造	こうぞう kouzou	structure; construction; makeup
製造	せいぞう seizou	manufacture; production

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.