Japanese symbol for “reheat”

蒸し返す

むしかえす

Romaji: mushikaesu

to reheat; to steam over

In Japanese, reheat is 蒸し返す, read むしかえす (mushikaesu).

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

v5s, vt to reheat; to steam over
v5s, vt to bring up again (a problem that has been dealt with); to take up again; to drag up; to rehash

Written forms: 蒸し返す、蒸返す. Readings: むしかえす.

Kanji and stroke order

蒸

steam, heat, sultry

on: ジョウ、セイ
kun: む.す、む.れる、む.らす

13 strokes · JLPT 2

返

return, answer, fade

on: ヘン
kun: かえ.す、-かえ.す、かえ.る、-かえ.る

7 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
蒸発	じょうはつ jouhatsu	evaporation
蒸気	じょうき jouki	steam; vapour; vapor
水蒸気	すいじょうき suijouki	water vapour; water vapor; steam
蒸し	むし mushi	steaming
蒸す	むす musu	to steam (food, towel, etc.)
蒸し暑い	むしあつい mushiatsui	humid; sultry
返事	へんじ henji	reply; answer; response
繰り返す	くりかえす kurikaesu	to repeat; to do over again

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.