Japanese symbol for “retardant”

抑制剤

よくせいざい

Romaji: yokuseizai

inhibitor; depressant; suppressant; retardant

In Japanese, retardant is 抑制剤, read よくせいざい (yokuseizai).

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 inhibitor; depressant; suppressant; retardant

Kanji and stroke order

抑

repress, well, now

on: ヨク
kun: おさ.える

7 strokes · JLPT 1

制

system, law, rule

on: セイ

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

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
抑制	よくせい yokusei	control; restraint; suppression
抑える	おさえる osaeru	to keep within limits (e.g. spending); to restrain (e.g. emotions); to control
抑え	おさえ osae	weight (e.g. paperweight); pressing down
抑圧	よくあつ yokuatsu	check; restraint; oppression
抑止	よくし yokushi	keeping in check; holding back; deterrence
抑留	よくりゅう yokuryuu	internment; detainment; detention
制度	せいど seido	system; institution; organization
制限	せいげん seigen	restriction; restraint; limitation
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.