Japanese symbol for “materials”
材料
ざいりょう
Romaji: zairyou
materials; ingredients
In Japanese, materials is 材料, read ざいりょう (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
- n materials; ingredients
- n material (for a novel, experiment, etc.); subject matter
- n grounds (for a decision, judgement, etc.); basis; evidence; data
- n (market) factor (finc)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “materials”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 資料 | しりょう shiryou | material; materials; data |
| 物資 | ぶっし busshi | goods; materials; commodities |
| 用材 | ようざい youzai | materials |
| スタッフ | スタッフ sutaffu | stuff; materials |
| 素片 | そへん sohen | fragments; chips; materials |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 取材 | しゅざい shuzai | gathering material (for an article, novel, etc.); collecting information; covering (an event, incident, etc.) |
| 素材 | そざい sozai | ingredient; (raw) material; resource |
| 人材 | じんざい jinzai | capable person; talented person |
| 木材 | もくざい mokuzai | lumber; timber; wood |
| 教材 | きょうざい kyouzai | teaching materials |
| 無料 | むりょう muryou | free (of charge); gratuitous |
| 料理 | りょうり ryouri | cooking; cookery; cuisine |
| 資料 | しりょう shiryou | material; materials; data |
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.