King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “ingredients”

Romaji: zairyou
materials; ingredients

In Japanese, ingredients is , read (zairyou).

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

  1. n materials; ingredients
  2. n material (for a novel, experiment, etc.); subject matter
  3. n grounds (for a decision, judgement, etc.); basis; evidence; data
  4. n (market) factor (finc)

Kanji and stroke order

lumber, log, timber
on: ザイ
7 strokes · JLPT 2
fee, materials
on: リョウ
10 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “ingredients”

WordReadingMeaning
げんざいりょう genzairyouraw materials; ingredients
ぐ guingredients (added to soup, rice, etc.)
ねた netaingredients (esp. for sushi)
やくしゅ yakushudrugs; ingredients (for Chinese medicine)
げんざいりょうめい genzairyoumeiingredients; list of ingredients

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しゅざい shuzaigathering material (for an article, novel, etc.); collecting information; covering (an event, incident, etc.)
そざい sozaiingredient; (raw) material; resource
じんざい jinzaicapable person; talented person
もくざい mokuzailumber; timber; wood
きょうざい kyouzaiteaching materials
むりょう muryoufree (of charge); gratuitous
りょうり ryouricooking; cookery; cuisine
しりょう shiryoumaterial; materials; data

See also: Chinese symbol for “ingredients”.

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.