King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “kindling”

Romaji: maki
piece(s) of firewood (esp. chopped or split from logs)

In Japanese, kindling is , read (maki).

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 piece(s) of firewood (esp. chopped or split from logs)
  2. n kindling (twigs, branches, etc.); firewood

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

fuel, firewood, kindling
on: シン
kun: たきぎ、まき
16 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “kindling”

WordReadingMeaning
たきつけ takitsukekindling; firelighter
もえくさ moekusakindling
ほた hotakindling; tinder; chips of firewood
ほたぎ hotagikindling; tinder; chips of firewood
ひいれ hiirefirst lighting (e.g. furnace); firing (e.g. forest); kindling

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しんたん shintanwood and charcoal; fuel
まきわり makiwarihatchet; axe
がしんしょうたん gashinshoutangoing through thick and thin to attain one's objective; enduring unspeakable hardships for the sake of vengeance
たきぎのう takiginounoh theater performed at night by a fire
しんすい shinsuifuel and water; firewood and water
たきぎひろい takigihiroifirewood gathering

See also: Chinese symbol for “kindling”.

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.

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