Japanese symbol for “dozing”

居眠り

いねむり

Romaji: inemuri

nodding off (while sitting); dozing

In Japanese, dozing is 居眠り, read いねむり (inemuri).

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, vi, vs nodding off (while sitting); dozing

Written forms: 居眠り、居睡り. Readings: いねむり.

Kanji and stroke order

居

reside, to be, exist

on: キョ、コ
kun: い.る、-い、お.る

8 strokes · JLPT 2

眠

sleep, die, sleepy

on: ミン
kun: ねむ.る、ねむ.い

10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “dozing”

Word	Reading	Meaning
転び寝	ころびね korobine	dozing
ぽくぽく	ぽくぽく pokupoku	dozing

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
居る	おる oru	to be (animate); to be; to exist
芝居	しばい shibai	play; drama
居住	きょじゅう kyojuu	residence; living (at, in); abode
居酒屋	いざかや izakaya	izakaya; tavern, bar, etc. that also serves various dishes and snacks
住居	じゅうきょ juukyo	dwelling; house; residence
同居	どうきょ doukyo	living together; coexistence
睡眠	すいみん suimin	sleep
眠り	ねむり nemuri	sleep; sleeping

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.