Japanese symbol for “palliative”

緩和剤

かんわざい

Romaji: kanwazai

palliative; mitigative; lenitive; alleviant

In Japanese, palliative is 緩和剤, read かんわざい (kanwazai).

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 palliative; mitigative; lenitive; alleviant; obtundent; anesthetic (pharm)

Kanji and stroke order

緩

slacken, loosen, relax

on: カン
kun: ゆる.い、ゆる.やか、ゆる.む、ゆる.める

15 strokes · JLPT 1

和

harmony, Japanese style, peace

on: ワ、オ、カ
kun: やわ.らぐ、やわ.らげる、なご.む、なご.やか

8 strokes · JLPT 2

剤

dose, medicine, drug

on: ザイ、スイ、セイ
kun: かる、けず.る

10 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “palliative”

Word	Reading	Meaning
対症的	たいしょうてき taishouteki	temporary (of medical care); palliative; dealing only with the symptoms

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
緩和	かんわ kanwa	relief; mitigation; alleviation
緩やか	ゆるやか yuruyaka	loose; slack
緩い	ゆるい yurui	loose
緩む	ゆるむ yurumu	to become loose; to slacken (e.g. rope)
緩慢	かんまん kanman	slow; sluggish; dull
緩急	かんきゅう kankyuu	high and low speed; fast and slow; pace
平和	へいわ heiwa	peace; harmony
昭和	しょうわ shouwa	Shōwa era (1926.12.25-1989.1.7)
洗剤	せんざい senzai	detergent; cleanser; cleaning agent

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.