Japanese symbol for “nightcap”

寝酒

ねざけ

Romaji: nezake

nightcap; a drink before sleeping

In Japanese, nightcap is 寝酒, read ねざけ (nezake).

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 nightcap; a drink before sleeping

Kanji and stroke order

寝

lie down, sleep, rest

on: シン
kun: ね.る、ね.かす、い.ぬ、みたまや

13 strokes · JLPT 2

酒

sake, alcohol

on: シュ
kun: さけ、さか-

10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “nightcap”

Word	Reading	Meaning
ナイトキャップ	ナイトキャップ naitokyappu	nightcap
夜酒	よざけ yozake	nightcap; drink at night

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
寝る	ねる neru	to sleep (lying down)
寝室	しんしつ shinshitsu	bedroom
昼寝	ひるね hirune	(afternoon) nap; sleeping during the day; siesta
寝台	しんだい shindai	bed; couch
寝不足	ねぶそく nebusoku	lack of sleep; insufficient sleep
就寝	しゅうしん shuushin	going to bed; retiring (for the night)
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

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.