Japanese symbol for “puffing”
息切れ
いきぎれ
Romaji: ikigire
shortness of breath; panting; puffing
In Japanese, puffing is 息切れ, read いきぎれ (ikigire).
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, vi, vs shortness of breath; panting; puffing
- n, vi, vs running out of steam (of the economy, a project, etc.); losing momentum; loss of efficiency
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “puffing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ぽっぽ | ぽっぽ poppo | puffing (smoke or steam); puff-puff (of a steam locomotive); chug-chug |
| 喘ぎ | あえぎ aegi | gasping; puffing; wheezing |
| ぷかり | ぷかり pukari | puffing (e.g. cigarette smoke) |
| ぽっぽと | ぽっぽと poppoto | puffing; chugging |
| はっと | はっと hatto | puffing (air); with a puff |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 息子 | むすこ musuko | son |
| 消息 | しょうそく shousoku | news (from someone); letter; contact |
| 利息 | りそく risoku | interest (on a loan, deposit etc.) |
| 窒息 | ちっそく chissoku | suffocation; choking; asphyxia |
| 休息 | きゅうそく kyuusoku | rest; relief; relaxation |
| 生息 | せいそく seisoku | inhabiting; living |
| 大切 | たいせつ taisetsu | important; significant; serious |
| 一切 | いっさい issai | all; everything; entirety |
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.